Biosorption of metals and metalloids

ESCUDERO, LETICIA B.; QUINTAS, PAMELA; WUILLOUD, RODOLFO G.; DOTTO, GUILHERME L.

Green Adsorbents for Pollutant Removal

Springer International Publising AG

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2018; p. 35 - 86

The presence of toxic metals and metalloids in the environment is a topic of growing concern due to the negative consequences that these elements cause in several life forms. Many remediation techniques have been developed for elemental pollutant removal, including biological treatment, reverse osmosis, coagulation/flocculation, electrochemical oxidation, and adsorption/biosorption. In this chapter, it is presented an overview of biosorption processes applied to metals and metalloids, conceived as a promising clean?up, free of secondary pollution, and low?cost biotechnology. The importance of biosorption for the encouragement of Green Chemistry is detailed. Furthermore, the mechanisms involved in elemental biosorption are discussed,along with the analytical techniques used for the characterization of biosorbents and detection of analytes. Biosorption equilibrium, thermodynamic and kinetics studies are also presented. The biosorbents used for removal of metals and metalloids will be one of the major points to comment and discuss. Moreover, bio?nano?hybrid materials have a special place in this chapter, and some published works based on the use of these novel materials are considered. Finally, trends and perspectives related with metal biosorption are exposed.