Evaluating feasibility of biosorption technique for heavy metals removal: limitations and future perspective
Pawan Kumar, Pawan Kumar, Kalp Bhushan Prajapati, Ambrish Kumar Mahajan, Deepak Pant, Narendra Kumar Meena, Anil Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Praveen Kumar
Abstract
Heavy metals are well-known environmental pollutants for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems that have serious consequences for public health. Plenty of experimental studies have been performed and reviewed to appraise the promising treatment and removal from a polluted environment. Among these, the biosorption technique utilises various biological materials as biosorbents are less costly and environmental friendly. This review comprehensively studies the potential of various biosorbents and summarises important research published in the duration of 2005 to 2022. After reviewing the test conditions, mechanisms and removal capacity, it is observed that the use of biosorbent has been mainly restricted to laboratory scale and shifting to the ground level requires more emphasis on adsorbent availability, durability and reusability. The results of the bibliographic searches of recent publications illustrate the need to improve the sorption capacity of already known biosorbents by understanding the thermodynamics mechanism, kinetics and biosorbent treatment. This paper addresses the different aspects to eliminate heavy metals and metalloids through biosorption techniques and bridges the gap between laboratory results and practical utility in a future perspective.