Human populations need methods and technologies to clean waters and diminish the environmental dangers related to technological progress. Biosorption can be one such solution to clean up metal contamination. In the present study P.aeruginosa and B.subtilis was isolated from rhizosphere soil by serial dilution and plate count technique. Both free and immobilized form of isolates were tested for the biosorption of chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), iron (Fe) and copper (Cu). Both the strains were able to remove metal from solutions. Free cells of B.subtilis and P.aeruginosa showed maximum iron removal 86.6% and 92.2% respectively. Free cells of B.subtilis is better in chromium removal (92%) that P.aeruginosa. and B.subtilis was equally effective in the removal of copper (98.1%). Maximum microorganism removal was observed with immobilized cells of B.subtilis; 87.5%. agitation increases the rate of biosorption when compared to static condition. The experiments were also conducted at 37°C and showed slight increase in the rate of biosorption. Microbial metal bioremediation is an efficient strategy due to its low cost, high efficiency and eco-friendly nature. This work summarize the potential of micros in metals remediation.

Municipal and industrial wastewaters contain a wide spectrum of pollutants. Their effective removal presents a challenge for water treatment technology. Biosorption of nutrients and pollutants has been used in sewage treatment since the discovery of the activated sludge process. It is a passive uptake process by which pollutants are adsorbed on the surface of cell walls and/or dissolved in structures of microorganism cells that are present in sludge. Sorbed pollutants remain in the sludge and can be potentially released back into the environment depending on their condition and the reversibility of the pollutant-sludge interaction. An overview of typical biosorption applications for the removal of nutrients, organic pollutants, and metals in wastewater treatment is provided in different areas of their use for the protection of aquatic ecosystems and human health. This book will be of interest to operators of wastewater treatment plants and sludge treatment and disposal facilities as well as to researchers and university students in the field of environmental engineering.

Metal contamination is an increasing ecological and eco-toxicological risk. Understanding the processes involved in metal mobilization, sorption and mineralization in soils are key features for soil bioremediation. Following an introduction to the physical, chemical and biological components of contaminated soils, various chapters address the interactions of soil, microorganisms, plants and the water phase necessary to transfer metals into biological systems. These include topics such as potential hazards at mining sites; rare earth elements in biotic and abiotic acidic systems; manganese redox reactions; biomineralisation, uranium in seepage water; metal-resistant streptomycetes; mycorrhiza in re-forestation; metal (hyper)accummulation in plants; microbial metal uptake; and their potential for bioremediation. This book will be of interest to soil biologists, geologists and chemists, researchers and graduate students, as well as consulting companies and small enterprises involved in bioremediation.

Heavy-metal contamination is one of the world's major environmental problems, posing significant risks to agro-ecosystems. Conventional technologies employed for heavy-metal remediation have often been expensive and disruptive. This book provides comprehensive, state-of-the-art coverage of the natural, sustainable alternatives that use a wide range of biological materials in the removal/detoxification of heavy metals, consequently leading to the improvement of crops in these soils. Novel, environmentally friendly and inexpensive solutions are presented based on a sound understanding of metal contamination and the roles of plants and microbes in the management of these toxic soils. Written by worldwide experts, the book provides not only the necessary scientific background but also addresses the challenging questions that require special attention in order to better understand metal toxicity in soils and its management through bioremediation.

Heavy metals are severe environmental pollutants, and many of them are toxic even at very low concentrations. With industrial development, soil pollution with heavy metal elements have dramatically increased. The uptake of heavy metals via plants that are exposed to contaminated soils is a risk for human health and a major hazard for the ecosystem as a whole, including soil microorganisms. On the other hand, plants may be used in the decontamination of soils. The topics presented in this book include: sources of heavy metals contaminants in soils; plant species that can grow on contaminated soils; the phytoremediation of contaminated soils; tolerance, accumulation and detoxification mechanisms of zinc, copper, arsenic, cadmium and vanadium in plants; the critical role of sulfur metabolism in heavy metal tolerance; the role of aquatic macrophytes, plant growth-promoting bacteria, sugar crops and earthworms in detoxification; and heavy metal stabilization by promoting zeolite synthesis in soils.

Plants possess a range of potential cellular mechanisms that may be involved in the detoxification of heavy metals and thus tolerance to metal stress. Metal toxicity causes multiple direct and indirect effects in plants that concern practically all physiological functions. The main purpose of this book is to present comprehensive and concise information on recent advances in the field of metal transport and how genetic diversity affects heavy metal transport in plants. Other key futures of the book are related to metal toxicity and detoxification mechanisms, biochemical tools for HM remediation processes, molecular mechanisms for HM detoxification, how metallomics and metalloproteomics are affected by heavy metal stress in plants, and the role of ROS metabolism in the alleviation of heavy metals. Some chapters also focus on recent developments in the field of phytoremediation. Overall the book presents in-depth information and the most essential advances in the field of heavy metal toxicity in plants in recent years.

With an ever-increasing human population, the demand placed upon the agriculture sector to supply more food is one of the greatest challenges for the agrarian community. In order to meet this challenge, environmentally unfriendly agroch- icals have played a key role in the green revolution and are even today commonly recommended to circumvent nutrient de?ciencies of the soils. The use of ag- chemicals is, though, a major factor for improvement of plant production; it causes a profound deteriorating effect on soil health (soil fertility) and in turn negatively affects the productivity and sustainability of crops. Concern over disturbance to the microbial diversity and consequently soil fertility (as these microbes are involved in biogeochemical processes), as well as economic constraints, have prompted fun- mental and applied research to look for new agro-biotechnologies that can ensure competitive yields by providing suf?ciently not only essential nutrients to the plants but also help to protect the health of soils by mitigating the toxic effects of certain pollutants. In this regard, the role of naturally abundant yet functionally fully unexplored microorganisms such as biofertilizers assume a special signi?cance in the context of supplementing plant nutrients, cost and environmental impact under both conventional practices and derelict environments. Therefore, current devel- ments in sustainability involve a rational exploitation of soil microbial communities and the use of inexpensive, though less bio-available, sources of plant nutrients, which may be made available to plants by microbially-mediated processes.