Hemijska industrija 2021 Volume 75, Issue 2, Pages: 103-115
https://doi.org/10.2298/HEMIND200915010V
Full text ( 550 KB)
Cited by
Microbial bioremediation of heavy metals
Volarić Ana (University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology and Ecology, Novi Sad, Serbia)
Svirčev Zorica (University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology and Ecology, Novi Sad, Serbia)
Tamindžija Dragana (University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Environmental Protection, Novi Sad, Serbia), dragana.cucak@dh.uns.ac.com
Radnović Dragan (University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology and Ecology, Novi Sad, Serbia)
Heavy metal pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems, due
to metal ions persistence, bioavailability, and toxicity. There are many
conventional physical and chemical techniques traditionally used for
environmental clean-up. Due to several drawbacks regarding these methods,
the use of living organisms, or bioremediation, is becoming more prevalent.
Biotechnological application of microorganisms is already successfully
implemented and is in constant development, with many microbial strains
successfully removing heavy metals. This paper provides an overview of the
main heavy metal characteristics and describes the interactions with
microorganisms. Key heavy metal resistance mechanisms in microorganisms are
described, as well as the main principles and types of heavy metal
bioremediation methods, with details on successful pilot scale bioreactor
studies. Special attention should be given to indigenous bacteria isolated
from the polluted environments since such species are already adapted to
contamination and possess resistance mechanisms. Utilization of bacterial
biofilms or consortia could be advantageous due to higher resistance and a
combination of several metabolic pathways, and thus, the possibility to
remove several heavy metals simultaneously. Novel technologies covered in
this review, such as nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and metagenomics,
are being introduced to the field of bioremediation in order to improve the
process. To conclude, bioremediation is a potentially powerful solution for
cleaning the environment.
Keywords: biotransformation, pollution, biotechnology, heavy metal resistance