Textile industries discharge significant amounts of toxic chemicals, including residual dyes and various other xenobiotic compounds, into the environment, leading to adverse effects such as toxicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity. While physico-chemical methods are commonly used for dye removal, bioremediation with microorganisms offers a greener and more eco-friendly alternative. Many microorganisms, including fungi, bacteria, and microalgae, possess the ability to degrade textile dyes through their metabolic pathways. However, their biodegradation potential is often hindered by factors such as cytotoxic effects of dyes, unfavorable environmental conditions, dye composition, concentration, and microbial types. In recent years, different strains of fungi, bacteria, and microalgae have been employed individually or in consortia for textile dye biodegradation. Nevertheless, there is a notable gap in research regarding the use of “bacterial–microalgal consortia” as a novel approach for efficient textile dye detoxification. This review aims to provide updated insights into the symbiotic interactions between bacteria and microalgae in degrading textile dyes. It discusses various technological, resource recovery, and economic challenges, as well as future prospects of this approach for textile wastewater treatment, emphasizing its potential for environmental and economic benefits. Graphical Abstract

In the past decade, a sudden increase in the number and kind of emerging water contaminants has been observed. The emerging contaminants can be categorized as organic or inorganic. Organic contaminants have been known for years, and techniques for their detection and remediation have been developed. However, inorganic pollutants are much more common. This is because they are detected in very low or negligible concentrations and are equally toxic as organic pollutants at higher concentrations. To boost the research on inorganic pollutant contamination, advancements in detection and quantification techniques are required. The presented paper discusses major inorganic pollutants such as metals and their salts, inorganic fertilizers, sulfides, acids and bases, and ammonia and oxides of nitrogen. In addition, it discusses the inorganic toxicants’ toxicity to organisms and the environment, upgraded quantification methods, and advancements in inorganic toxicant mitigation. Moreover, the major bottlenecks in the quantification and removal of inorganic pollutants are discussed at the end.