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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The release of heavy metals into the environment,
mainly as a consequence of anthropogenic activities,
constitutes a worldwide environmental pollution problem.
Unlike organic pollutants, heavy metals are not degraded
and remain indefinitely in the ecosystem, which poses a
different kind of challenge for remediation. It seems that the
“best treatment technologies” available may not be completely
effective for metal removal or can be expensive;
therefore, new methodologies have been proposed for the
detoxification of metal-bearing wastewaters. The present
work reviews and discusses the advantages of using
brewing yeast cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the
detoxification of effluents containing heavy metals. The
current knowledge of the mechanisms of metal removal by
yeast biomass is presented. The use of live or dead biomass
and the influence of biomass inactivation on the metal
accumulation characteristics are outlined. The role of
chemical speciation for predicting and optimising the
efficiency of metal removal is highlighted. The problem
of biomass separation, after treatment of the effluents, and
the use of flocculent characteristics, as an alternative
process of cell–liquid separation, are also discussed. The
use of yeast cells in the treatment of real effluents to bridge
the gap between fundamental and applied studies is
presented and updated. The convenient management of
the contaminated biomass and the advantages of the
selective recovery of heavy metals in the development of
a closed cycle without residues (green technology) are
critically reviewed.
Description
Keywords
Chemical speciation Electroplating wastewater bioremediation Heavy metal biosorption Incineration Metal selective recovery Yeast flocculation
Citation
Publisher
Springer Verlag