Microbial Bioremediation: A Cutting-Edge Technology for Xenobiotic Removal

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.

The effluent discharged by the textile dyehouses has a seriously detrimental effect on the aquatic environment. Some dyestuffs produce toxic decomposition products and the metal complex dyes release toxic heavy metals to watercourses. Of the dyes used in the textile industry, effluents containing reactive dyes are the most difficult to treat because of their high water-solubility and poor absorption into the fibers. A range of treatments has been investigated for the decolorization of textile effluent and the adsorption seems to be one of the cheapest, effective and convenient treatments. In this review, the adsorbents investigated in the last decade for the treatment of textile effluent containing reactive dyes including modified clays, biomasses, chitin and its derivatives, and magnetic ion-exchanging particles have been critically reviewed and their reactive dye binding capacities have been compiled and compared. Moreover, the dye binding mechanism, dye sorption isotherm models and also the merits/demerits of various adsorbents are discussed. This review also includes the current challenges and the future directions for the development of adsorbents that meet these challenges. The adsorption capacities of adsorbents depend on various factors, such as the chemical structures of dyes, the ionic property, surface area, porosity of the adsorbents, and the operating conditions. It is evident from the literature survey that decolorization by the adsorption shows a great promise for the removal of color from dyehouse effluent. If biomasses want to compete with the established ion-exchange resins and activated carbon, their dye binding capacity will need to be substantially improved.