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Bioremediation of toxic heavy metals (THMs) contaminated sites: concepts, applications and challenges

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Abstract

Heavy metal contamination is a global issue, where the prevalent contaminants are arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr)(VI), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb). More often, they are collectively known as “most problematic heavy metals” and “toxic heavy metals” (THMs). Their treatment through a variety of biological processes is one of the prime interests in remediation studies, where heavy metal-microbe interaction approaches receive high interest for their cost effective and ecofriendly solutions. In this review, we provide an up to date information on different microbial processes (bioremediation) for the removal of THMs. For the same, emphasis is put on oxidation-reduction, biomineralization, bioprecipitation, bioleaching, biosurfactant technology, biovolatilization, biosorption, bioaccumulation, and microbe-assisted phytoremediation with their selective advantages and disadvantages. Further, the literature briefly discusses about the various setups of cleaning processes of THMs in environment under ex situ and in situ applications. Lately, the study sheds light on the manipulation of microorganisms through genetic engineering and nanotechnology for their advanced treatment approaches.

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Acknowledgments

Fellowship to ZR by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is gratefully acknowledged. Authors are very thankful to Dr. Lebin Thomas for their helpful feedback on the early drafts of manuscript.

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  1. Department of Botany, Zakir Husain Delhi College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India

    Zeeshanur Rahman

  2. Department of Botany, University of Delhi, Delhi, India

    Zeeshanur Rahman & Ved Pal Singh

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Rahman, Z., Singh, V.P. Bioremediation of toxic heavy metals (THMs) contaminated sites: concepts, applications and challenges. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 27563–27581 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08903-0

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