Biosorption: critical review of scientific rationale, environmental importance and significance for pollution treatment
TL;DR: Biosorption is a physico-chemical process and includes such mechanisms as absorption, adsorption, ion exchange, surface complexation and precipitation as discussed by the authors, which has been heralded as a promising biotechnology for pollutant removal from solution, and/or pollutant recovery.
Abstract: Biosorption may be simply defined as the removal of substances from solution by biological material. Such substances can be organic and inorganic, and in gaseous, soluble or insoluble forms. Biosorption is a physico-chemical process and includes such mechanisms as absorption, adsorption, ion exchange, surface complexation and precipitation. Biosorption is a property of both living and dead organisms (and their components) and has been heralded as a promising biotechnology for pollutant removal from solution, and/or pollutant recovery, for a number of years, because of its efficiency, simplicity, analogous operation to conventional ion exchange technology, and availability of biomass. Most biosorption studies have carried out on microbial systems, chiefly bacteria, microalgae and fungi, and with toxic metals and radionuclides, including actinides like uranium and thorium. However, practically all biological material has an affinity for metal species and a considerable amount of other research exists with macroalgae (seaweeds) as well as plant and animal biomass, waste organic sludges, and many other wastes or derived bio-products. While most biosorption research concerns metals and related substances, including radionuclides, the term is now applied to particulates and all manner of organic substances as well. However, despite continuing dramatic increases in published research on biosorption, there has been little or no exploitation in an industrial context. This article critically reviews aspects of biosorption research regarding the benefits, disadvantages, and future potential of biosorption as an industrial process, the rationale, scope and scientific value of biosorption research, and the significance of biosorption in other waste treatment processes and in the environment. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry
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TL;DR: The ubiquity and importance of microbes in biosphere processes make geomicrobiology one of the most important concepts within microbiology, and one requiring an interdisciplinary approach to define environmental and applied significance and underpin exploitation in biotechnology.
Abstract: Microbes play key geoactive roles in the biosphere, particularly in the areas of element biotransformations and biogeochemical cycling, metal and mineral transformations, decomposition, bioweathering, and soil and sediment formation. All kinds of microbes, including prokaryotes and eukaryotes and their symbiotic associations with each other and 'higher organisms', can contribute actively to geological phenomena, and central to many such geomicrobial processes are transformations of metals and minerals. Microbes have a variety of properties that can effect changes in metal speciation, toxicity and mobility, as well as mineral formation or mineral dissolution or deterioration. Such mechanisms are important components of natural biogeochemical cycles for metals as well as associated elements in biomass, soil, rocks and minerals, e.g. sulfur and phosphorus, and metalloids, actinides and metal radionuclides. Apart from being important in natural biosphere processes, metal and mineral transformations can have beneficial or detrimental consequences in a human context. Bioremediation is the application of biological systems to the clean-up of organic and inorganic pollution, with bacteria and fungi being the most important organisms for reclamation, immobilization or detoxification of metallic and radionuclide pollutants. Some biominerals or metallic elements deposited by microbes have catalytic and other properties in nanoparticle, crystalline or colloidal forms, and these are relevant to the development of novel biomaterials for technological and antimicrobial purposes. On the negative side, metal and mineral transformations by microbes may result in spoilage and destruction of natural and synthetic materials, rock and mineral-based building materials (e.g. concrete), acid mine drainage and associated metal pollution, biocorrosion of metals, alloys and related substances, and adverse effects on radionuclide speciation, mobility and containment, all with immense social and economic consequences. The ubiquity and importance of microbes in biosphere processes make geomicrobiology one of the most important concepts within microbiology, and one requiring an interdisciplinary approach to define environmental and applied significance and underpin exploitation in biotechnology.
1,550 citations
Cites background from "Biosorption: critical review of sci..."
...All microbial materials can be effective biosorbents for metals except for mobile alkali metal cations like Na+ and K+, and this can be an important passive process in living and dead organisms (Gadd, 1993a, 2009b; Sterflinger, 2000; Wang & Chen, 2009)....
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...In some cases, microbial activity can result in remobilization of metals from waste materials and transfer into aquatic systems (Gadd, 2009a; Violante et al., 2008)....
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...…mobility in the biosphere than has previously been supposed (Krantz-Rulcker et al., 1993, 1996; Ledin et al., 1996; McLean et al., 2002); it should be emphasized that this may also accompany or precede nucleation, precipitation and biomineral formation (Burford et al., 2003a; Gadd, 2007, 2009a, b)....
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...The reader is referred to several detailed reviews (e.g. Gadd, 2001a, b; Pumpel & Paknikar, 2001; Barkay & WagnerDobler, 2005; Hockin & Gadd, 2007; Gadd, 2009b)....
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...…of metal species, with microbial surfaces providing chemically reactive sites for sorption (;biosorption), which can also lead to the nucleation and formation of mineral precipitates around biomass (Beveridge, 1989; Fortin et al., 1997; McLean et al., 2002; Lloyd et al., 2008; Gadd, 2009b)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide a sketch about treatment technologies followed by their heavy metal capture capacity from industrial effluent, the treatment performance, their remediation capacity and probable environmental and health impacts were deliberated in this review article.
Abstract: The controversy related to the environment pollution is increasing in human life and in the eco-system. Especially, the water pollution is growing rapidly due to the wastewater discharge from the industries. The only way to find the new water resource is the reuse of treated wastewater. Several remediation technologies are available which provides a convenience to reuse the reclaimed wastewater. Heavy metals like Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni, Cd, Hg, etc. contributes various environmental problems based on their toxicity. These toxic metals are exposed to human and environment, the accumulation of ions takes place which causes serious health and environmental hazards. Hence, it is a major concern in the environment. Due to this concern, the significance of developing technology for removing heavy metals has been increased. This paper contributes the outline of new literature with two objectives. First, it provides the sketch about treatment technologies followed by their heavy metal capture capacity from industrial effluent. The treatment performance, their remediation capacity and probable environmental and health impacts were deliberated in this review article. Conclusively, this review paper furnishes the information about the important methods incorporated in lab scale studies which are required to identify the feasible and convenient wastewater treatment. Moreover, attempts have been made to confer the emphasis on sequestration of heavy metals from industrial effluent and establish the scientific background for reducing the discharge of heavy metals into the environment.
1,040 citations
TL;DR: The sources of toxic heavy metals are discussed, the groups of microorganisms with biosorbent potential for heavy metal removal are described and the use of microbial biosorbents is eco-friendly and cost effective.
Abstract: Persistent heavy metal pollution poses a major threat to all life forms in the environment due to its toxic effects. These metals are very reactive at low concentrations and can accumulate in the food web, causing severe public health concerns. Remediation using conventional physical and chemical methods is uneconomical and generates large volumes of chemical waste. Bioremediation of hazardous metals has received considerable and growing interest over the years. The use of microbial biosorbents is eco-friendly and cost effective; hence, it is an efficient alternative for the remediation of heavy metal contaminated environments. Microbes have various mechanisms of metal sequestration that hold greater metal biosorption capacities. The goal of microbial biosorption is to remove and/or recover metals and metalloids from solutions, using living or dead biomass and their components. This review discusses the sources of toxic heavy metals and describes the groups of microorganisms with biosorbent potential for heavy metal removal.
1,035 citations
Cites background from "Biosorption: critical review of sci..."
...Most solids, including microorganisms, possess functional groups like –SH, –OH, and –COOH on their surfaces, that helps in the adsorption of metals [54]....
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TL;DR: This work highlights this rapidly advancing area of algal science with a particular focus on the key research required to assess better the health benefits of an alga or algal product.
Abstract: Global demand for macroalgal and microalgal foods is growing, and algae are increasingly being consumed for functional benefits beyond the traditional considerations of nutrition and health. There is substantial evidence for the health benefits of algal-derived food products, but there remain considerable challenges in quantifying these benefits, as well as possible adverse effects. First, there is a limited understanding of nutritional composition across algal species, geographical regions, and seasons, all of which can substantially affect their dietary value. The second issue is quantifying which fractions of algal foods are bioavailable to humans, and which factors influence how food constituents are released, ranging from food preparation through genetic differentiation in the gut microbiome. Third is understanding how algal nutritional and functional constituents interact in human metabolism. Superimposed considerations are the effects of harvesting, storage, and food processing techniques that can dramatically influence the potential nutritive value of algal-derived foods. We highlight this rapidly advancing area of algal science with a particular focus on the key research required to assess better the health benefits of an alga or algal product. There are rich opportunities for phycologists in this emerging field, requiring exciting new experimental and collaborative approaches.
933 citations
Cites background from "Biosorption: critical review of sci..."
...Moreover, a substantial amount of metal associated with macroalgae can exist as colloidal-sized particles sorbed to algal surfaces (Gadd 2009; Turner et al. 2009), so surface chemistry and algal physical structures can affect metal content in addition to metabolic processes....
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TL;DR: Existing knowledge on various aspects of the fundamentals and applications of biosorption are summarized and the obstacles to commercial success and future perspectives are critically reviewed.
812 citations
Cites background or methods from "Biosorption: critical review of sci..."
...In some cases, cations may increase biosorption of anionic species by enhancing binding of negativelycharged anions (Gadd, 2009)....
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...Microorganisms can excrete many kinds of metal-binding metabolites (Gadd, 2009)....
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...Unfortunately, it is doubtful whether the dramatic rise in published output on biosorption has significantly improved knowledge of the process, or aided any commercial exploitation (Gadd, 2009)....
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...In reality, depending on the system and given conditions biosorption can be a mechanistically highly complex process (Gadd, 2009; Stumm and Morgan, 1996)....
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...These assumptions are clearly invalid for most complex systems (Gadd, 2009)....
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References
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TL;DR: An overview of second-order kinetic expressions is described in this paper based on the solid adsorption capacity, which shows that a pseudo-second-order rate expression has been widely applied to the Adsorption of pollutants from aqueous solutions onto adsorbents.
3,458 citations
Book•
15 Aug 1990TL;DR: The state of the art in the field of biosorption is reviewed, with many references to recent reviews and key individual contributions, and the composition of marine algae polysaccharide structures, which seem instrumental in metal uptake and binding are discussed.
Abstract: Only within the past decade has the potential of metal biosorption by biomass materials been well established. For economic reasons, of particular interest are abundant biomass types generated as a waste byproduct of large-scale industrial fermentations or certain metal-binding algae found in large quantities in the sea. These biomass types serve as a basis for newly developed metal biosorption processes foreseen particularly as a very competitive means for the detoxification of metal-bearing industrial effluents. The assessment of the metal-binding capacity of some new biosorbents is discussed. Lead and cadmium, for instance, have been effectively removed from very dilute solutions by the dried biomass of some ubiquitous species of brown marine algae such as Ascophyllum and Sargassum, which accumulate more than 30% of biomass dry weight in the metal. Mycelia of the industrial steroid-transforming fungi Rhizopus and Absidia are excellent biosorbents for lead, cadmium, copper, zinc, and uranium and also bind other heavy metals up to 25% of the biomass dry weight. Biosorption isotherm curves, derived from equilibrium batch sorption experiments, are used in the evaluation of metal uptake by different biosorbents. Further studies are focusing on the assessment of biosorbent performance in dynamic continuous-flow sorption systems. In the course of this work, new methodologies are being developed that are aimed at mathematical modeling of biosorption systems and their effective optimization. Elucidation of mechanisms active in metal biosorption is essential for successful exploitation of the phenomenon and for regeneration of biosorbent materials in multiple reuse cycles. The complex nature of biosorbent materials makes this task particularly challenging. Discussion focuses on the composition of marine algae polysaccharide structures, which seem instrumental in metal uptake and binding. The state of the art in the field of biosorption is reviewed in this article, with many references to recent reviews and key individual contributions.
3,388 citations
"Biosorption: critical review of sci..." refers background in this paper
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TL;DR: The use of low-cost sorbents has been investigated as a replacement for current costly methods of removing heavy metals from solution as mentioned in this paper, where natural materials or waste products from certain industries with a high capacity for heavy metals can be obtained, employed and disposed of with little cost.
3,026 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: The Chemical Composition of Soils as mentioned in this paper is a well-known topic in the field of soil chemistry, and it has been used extensively in the literature to study the properties of soil.
Abstract: 1. The Chemical Composition of Soils 2. Soil Minerals 3. Soil Humus 4. The Soil Solution 5. Mineral Stability and Weathering 6. Oxidation-Reduction Reactions 7. Soil Particle Surface Charge 8. Soil Adsorption Phenomena 9. Exchangeable Ions 10. Colloidal Phenomena 11. Soil Acidity 12. Soil Salinity
2,751 citations
TL;DR: The emphasis is on outlining the biochemical properties of the brown algae that set them apart from other algal biosorbents, including alginate and fucoidan, which are chiefly responsible for heavy metal chelation.
2,191 citations