Microbial Biosorption as a Green Technology for Bioremediation of Heavy Metals

The exponential growth of Industrialization with the increase in human population has led to a heavy metal pollution problem, which has become ubiquitous from air to soil. Heavy metal pollution has become a more serious environmental problem in the last several decades as a result of its toxicity and insusceptibility to the environment. There are many bioremediation technologies including biosorption process to decontaminate the heavy metal polluted sites. Biosorption is a technique that can be used for the removal of pollutants from waters, especially those that are not easily biodegradable such as metals and dyes. A variety of biomaterials are known to bind these pollutants, including bacteria, fungi, algae, and industrial and agricultural wastes. In this review, the biosorption abilities of bacterial and fungal biomass towards metal ions are emphasized. This review attempts to present a brief summary of the role of biosorption in heavy metal removal from wastewater. Undoubtedly, the biosorption process is a potential technique for heavy metal decontamination.