Mycoremediation: Fungal-based technology for biosorption of heavy metals - a review

Environmental pollution due to the development of industries in recent times is a great threat to living beings. Different industries released heavy metals into the water body. These heavy metals can be toxic, carcinogenic, and cause threats to human beings and the aquatic environment. So, there is a serious challenge to remove heavy metals from wastewater. Biosorption of heavy metals using fungus or mycoremediation is a widely used technology due to low cost, high biomass, and eco-friendly nature. When compared to fungal biomass with other biosorbents, fungal biomasses are more accessible as a waste product from industry and give economic advantages. Most fungi applied to remove heavy metals are non-pathogenic and can be simply used without any safety issues. Fungal biosorption largely depends on various factors such as pH, metal ion, and biomass concentration and to a limited extent on temperature. This review article focused on collected and disseminated facts on different fungal adsorbents which are important for the removal of heavy metals and offer information about biosorption mechanisms as well as a functional group of fungus involved for the removal of different heavy metals.