Remediation of heavy metals using non-conventional adsorbents and biosurfactant-producing bacteria
Swati Rastogi, Rajesh Kumar
Abstract
Heavy metal pollution in the ecosystem has attracted worldwide attention due to the persistent non-biodegradable toxic nature that affects not only human beings but also animals and vegetation. Instead of using available conventional techniques, the focus has been shifted to utilize eco-friendly, cost-effective, integrated remediation approaches that are simple, non-conventional with design flexibility and does not harm the prevailing surroundings. The main approaches utilized for remediation of heavy metal contaminated soils are sand capping or land filling, phytoremediation, bioremediation, washing, electro-chemical remediation, stabilization, soil replacement, phytoextraction, phytovoltalization, etc., but again they have their own merits and demerits.