Abstract
Heavy metal contamination of the environment is a worldwide concern, and due to the toxic effects of metals, efforts are concerted on the remediation of the contamination. Sources of heavy metal pollution in the environment include mining, metal smelting, agriculture, waste disposal and atmospheric deposition. Physical, chemical, and biological methods are all explored in cleaning up the environment from metal pollution. Biological remediation of heavy metals involves the use of organisms such as various microorganisms and plants, and their derivatives or products are applied as a mild environmentally friendly method for decontaminating the environment. Biological strategies, unlike other methods of remediation, are unique in that biological strategies are environmentally friendly and acceptable, the diversity of organisms involved is wide and of diverse capabilities that have not yet been exhaustively exploited and also amenable to genetic modification for accelerated bioremediation.
Biological strategies for heavy metal remediation are applied to all the main environmental components: soil, air, and water. Bioremediation processes can be active (metabolic and energy dependent) or passive and can use dead or live organisms/biomass. Microorganisms can be applied directly to contaminated sites or used in designed bioreactors optimized to achieve the remediation goals. In phytoremediation, plants are grown on contaminated sites or in wetlands or their biomass used. This chapter gives an overview of biological remediation of heavy metals using plants and microorganisms. The strategies that are used by microorganisms in bioremediation include biosorption, biotransformation, bioaccumulation, bioleaching, and biomineralization. Further elaboration of bacteria, fungi, algae, and plants’ contribution to biological remediation of metals is given.
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Tekere, M. (2020). Biological Strategies for Heavy Metal Remediation. In: Inamuddin, Ahamed, M.I., Lichtfouse, E., Asiri, A.M. (eds) Methods for Bioremediation of Water and Wastewater Pollution. Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World, vol 51. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48985-4_18
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