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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Metal contamination of a few aquatic, atmospheric, and soil ecosystems has increased ever
since the industrial revolution, owing to discharge of such elements via the effluents of some
industrial facilities. Their presence to excessive levels in the environment will eventually lead
to serious health problems in higher animals owing to accumulation throughout the food web.
Current physicochemical methods available for recovery of metal pollutants (e.g., chemical
precipitation, oxidation/reduction, or physical ion exchange) are either expensive or inefficient
when they are present at very low concentrations. Consequently, removal of toxic metals by
microorganisms has emerged as a potentially more economical alternative. Microalgae (in
terms of both living and nonliving biomass) are an example of microorganisms suitable to
recover metals and able to attain noteworthy percent removals. Their relatively high
metal-binding capacities arise from the intrinsic composition of their cell walls, which contain
negatively charged functional groups. Consequently, microalgal cells are particularly efficient
in uptake of those contaminants when at low levels. Self-defense mechanisms developed by
microalgal cells to survive in metal-containing media and environmental factors that affect
their removal (e.g., pH, temperature, and biomass concentration) are reviewed here in a
comprehensive way and further discussed in attempts to rationalize this form of remediation
vis-a-vis with conventional nonbiological alternatives
Description
Keywords
Microalgae Metals Toxicity Biosorption mechanisms Multimetal systems
Citation
MONTEIRO, C. M.; CASTRO, P.M.L.; MALCATA, F. X. - Metal Uptake by Microalgae: Underlying Mechanisms and Practical Applications. Biotechnology Progress. ISSN 1744-7429. Vol. 28, N.º 2 (2012), p. 299-311
Publisher
American Institute of Chemical Engineers