Research Projects

The escalating contamination of wastewater by microplastics and pathogenic microorganisms presents a serious, dual-faceted threat to ecological integrity and public health. Municipal wastewater can carry up to 1 million microplastic particles per cubic meter, many of which persist through secondary and tertiary treatment. Simultaneously, sewage is a reservoir for resilient pathogens including Escherichia coli, Vibrio spp., Salmonella, and Giardia, which often survive disinfection and reach natural water bodies. Microplastics act as persistent substrates for microbial colonization, forming “plastisphere” biofilms that shield pathogens from environmental stress and promote horizontal gene transfer. These complexes enhance microbial survival, facilitate long-range dispersal, and infiltrate aquatic food webs and drinking water, raising chronic toxicity and infection risks. Conventional wastewater treatment technologies are not designed for the integrated removal of microplastics and pathogenic microbes in an energy-efficient and sustainable manner. Addressing this challenge, the present study proposes the development of a microalgae-based bioremediation platform capable of simultaneously removing microplastics and pathogens from wastewater. The central hypothesis is that certain native microalgal strains possess dual-functional traits: surface-bound and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that facilitate adsorption and aggregation of microplastics, and metabolic secretion of bioactive compounds with antimicrobial properties. Cultivating such strains in a lab-scale photobioreactor could enable an effective, low-carbon solution for complex wastewater remediation. The scientific objectives include: The key scientific objectives are: (1) isolation and characterization of native algal strains with microplastic-binding and antimicrobial properties; (2) mechanistic study of algae–plastic microbe interactions using µFTIR, SEM, CLSM, and metagenomic profiling to analyze community structure and resistance gene propagation; (3) optimization of cultivation conditions for enhanced EPS-mediated removal, supported by transcriptomic analysis to explore stress-responsive gene expression; (4) design and validation of a lab-scale bioreactor for integrated remediation of synthetic and real wastewater; and (5) techno-environmental assessment, including life cycle analysis and scalability evaluation. The novelty of this research lies in its dual-remediation approach, integrating biosorption and biological disinfection in a single algal platform, enriched with omics-driven insights. The outcomes will include a validated bioreactor, functionally potent algal strains, standardized protocols, and mechanistic datasets. This project advances the frontiers of algal biotechnology, environmental engineering, and circular bioprocessing, directly supporting national missions such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, SDGs, and India’s circular bioeconomy vision.