Abstract
Heavy metals pose a significant ecological and public health hazard because of their toxic effects and their ability to accumulate in terrestrial and aquatic food chains. This chapter addresses the interactions of heavy metals with organisms for application in wastewater or soil treatment systems, with special emphasis on yeasts and fungi. Conventional techniques to remove metals from wastewaters have several disadvantages; however, biosorption has demonstrated significant metal removal performance from large volumes of effluents. One key step of treatment processes for cleanup of heavy metal-enriched water or soil involves growing resistant cells that accumulate metals to optimize removal through a combination of biosorption and continuous metabolic uptake. Fungal biosorption can be used for the removal of metals from contaminated water and soil; fungal biosorbents are less expensive and more effective alternatives for the removal of metallic elements, especially heavy metals, from aqueous solution. In this chapter, the biosorption abilities of fungal biomass toward metal ions are emphasized. The chapter also highlights the mechanisms involved in fungal biosorption and the factors affecting the biosorption process. The current status and achievements of fungal biosorption technologies are reviewed.