Can microalgae grow on dissolved black carbon generated from high-frequency wildfires?

Shah Faisal¹Ahmad Mustafa²Mahdy Elsayed³Shangze Zhang¹Xuyang Qiao¹Irfan Saif⁴Javed Muhammad⁵Ting Li¹Jialing Tang¹Cassamo Ussemane Mussagy⁶Ayub Jadoon⁷Mian Gul Hilal⁸Ali Bahadur⁹Ashutosh Tiwari^10*Abdelfatah Abomohra^11*

• ¹Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, PR China, Chengdu University, Chengdu, China
• ²Faculty of Engineering, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA), Giza 12566, Egypt, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts, 6th of October City, Egypt
• ³Department of Agricultural Engineering, Cairo University Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo, Egypt
• ⁴MOE, Key Laboratory of Cell Activities and Stress Adaptations, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, PR China, Lanzhou University School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou, China
• ⁵Department of Microbiology, The University of Haripur, Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, The University of Haripur, Haripur, Pakistan
• ⁶Escuela de Agronomía, Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas y de los Alimentos, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Geografia, Valparaíso, Chile
• ⁷Department of Microbiology, Abbotabad University of Science and Technology, Abbotabad, Pakistan, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, Havelian, Pakistan
• ⁸Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Biohazard Monitoring and Green Prevention and Control in Artificial Grassland, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hohhot, China., Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Grassland Research Institute, Hohhot, China
• ⁹Cryosphere and Eco-Environment Research Station of Shule River Headwaters, Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China, Chinese Academy of Sciences Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Lanzhou, China
• ¹⁰Institute of Advanced Materials, Gammalkilsvägen 18, Ulrika 590 53, Sweden, Institute of Advanced Materials, Ulrika, Sweden
• ¹¹Aquaculture Research, AWI – Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany, Universitat Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

Climate and land-use changes have significantly increased the severity and frequency of global wildfires, and their effects on the terrestrial environment, aquatic systems, and humans have become a concern. During wildfires, numerous substances such as organic matter (black carbon (BC)), anions, cations, and nutrients are released and mobilized. Black carbon (BC) is a pyrogenic residue generated through the incomplete burning of organics (OCs) during wildfires. The introduction of BC to aquatic systems through rainfall events forms a dissolved proportion known as dissolved black carbon (DBC), strongly absorbs sunlight and increases the surface and internal water temperature. Currently, microalgae are serving as a popular candidate for carbon fixation, biofuel production, and other value-added products. The current review suggested the potential application of DBC in the aquatic environment to enhance microalgal growth by sunlight absorption and interaction with other pollutants. However, DBC addition for microalgal growth may face challenges; therefore, employment of novel strategies should be promoted to direct future research toward assuring cleaner, more economical, and environmentally friendly DBC consumption for enhanced microalgal biomass production.