Biosorption Technologies for Heavy Metal Contaminant Removal

Biosorption exploits the natural affinity of biological materials for metal ions to remove heavy metals from aqueous environments. A diverse array of biosorbents—including plant biomass, agricultural residues and engineered biomaterials—provides active sites such as hydroxyl, carboxyl and amine groups for metal binding. Mechanisms encompass surface adsorption, ion exchange, complexation and precipitation, often occurring concurrently. The simplicity, low cost and sustainability of biosorption contrast with conventional treatments, and tailored reactor designs enable continuous operation at industrial scale. Recent advances have focused on enhancing sorption capacity through chemical activation, surface functionalisation and hybrid sorbents, as well as on rigorous modelling of mass transfer and column performance. Global interest stems from the urgent need to address contamination of drinking water, industrial effluents and mining discharges, underscoring the promise of scalable biosorption systems in circular‐economy frameworks.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have developed pilot‐scale continuous systems using water hyacinth biomass transformed into cellulose derivatives. One work established a continuous biotreatment for chromium(VI) removal by crushed dry biomass of Eichhornia crassipes, deriving Fick diffusion and intraparticle diffusion constants to guide reactor design. This approach achieved high sorption rates and enabled the calibration of flow rate, bed density and contact time for efficient removal. Another study scaled up the treatment of Cr(VI) with cellulose xanthogenate from hyacinth on a pilot column, integrating PET waste as structural support. Performance assessments via a mass‐balance and Thomas model revealed over 95% removal in each cycle and demonstrated stable reuse of biomass over multiple adsorption–desorption runs, highlighting the feasibility of integrated biosorption in industrial effluent treatment.

Biosorption Technologies for Heavy Metal Contaminant Removal publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in biosorption technologies for heavy metal contaminant removal across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Biosorption: The passive binding of metal ions onto biological materials via surface functional groups.

Langmuir isotherm: A model describing monolayer adsorption on a homogeneous surface with finite binding sites.

Intraparticle diffusion: The transport of sorbate within pores or along surfaces of the biosorbent.

Fixed-bed column: A reactor configuration where biosorbent is packed in a column and contaminant solution flows through it.

Chemisorption: Adsorption in which chemical bonds form between adsorbate and sorbent surface.

References

1. Design and development of a biotreatment of E. crassipes for the decontamination of water with Chromium (VI). Scientific Reports (2021).
2. Development of a treatment for water contaminated with Cr (VI) using cellulose xanthogenate from E. crassipes on a pilot scale. Scientific Reports (2023).
3. A Strategy to Valorize a By-Product of Pine Wood (Pinus pinaster) for Copper Removal from Aqueous Solutions. Molecules (2023).
4. Biosorbents from Plant Fibers of Hemp and Flax for Metal Removal: Comparison of Their Biosorption Properties. Molecules (2021).
5. Magnetic nanostructures functionalized with a derived lysine coating applied to simultaneously remove heavy metal pollutants from environmental systems. Science and Technology of Advanced Materials (2021).