Biosurfactants for Heavy Metal Remediation and Bioeconomics

Abstract

In recent years, environmental pollution arising from heavy metal ions is found to be a serious health issue and irresponsible industrial activities are the major wrongdoer behind this. Researchers develop various conventional techniques for metal ions cleanup from environment but most of them are either expensive or they generate toxic by-products. Thus, inevitability for an environmentally safe approach goaded interest towards biological techniques. An alternative to the costly and complex conventional remediation method for metal ions is in-situ application of biosurfactants. Plants and microbes synthesized biosurfactants as extracellular polymeric substances of high molecular weight and amphiphilic nature. The mode of action of biosurfactants are metal ion specific and they carry variety of physico-chemical properties. In this chapter, the authors highlight the potential of microbial biosurfactants for the remediation of metal ion contaminated media with extremely sustainable, economic and eco-friendly labels. The authors also briefly discuss the bioeconomics of biosurfactants. © 2021 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.