Chapter 17
Mycoremediation: Fungal-Based
Technology for Biosorption of Heavy
Metals – A Review
Abate Ayele, Setegn Haile, Digafe Alemu, Tamiru Tesfaye,
and M. Kamaraj
Abstract 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.
Keywords Biosorption · Fungi · Heavy metals · Mycoremediation · Functional
groups
A. Ayele · S. Haile · D. Alemu · T. Tesfaye
Department of Biotechnology, College of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Addis Ababa
Science and Technology University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
M. Kamaraj (*)
Department of Biotechnology, College of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Addis Ababa
Science and Technology University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Bioprocess and Biotechnology Center of Excellence, Addis Ababa Science and Technology
University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. Aravind et al. (eds.), Strategies and Tools for Pollutant Mitigation,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63575-6_17
355
Mycoremediation: Fungal-Based
Technology for Biosorption of Heavy
Metals – A Review
Abate Ayele, Setegn Haile, Digafe Alemu, Tamiru Tesfaye,
and M. Kamaraj
Abstract 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.
Keywords Biosorption · Fungi · Heavy metals · Mycoremediation · Functional
groups
A. Ayele · S. Haile · D. Alemu · T. Tesfaye
Department of Biotechnology, College of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Addis Ababa
Science and Technology University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
M. Kamaraj (*)
Department of Biotechnology, College of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Addis Ababa
Science and Technology University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Bioprocess and Biotechnology Center of Excellence, Addis Ababa Science and Technology
University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. Aravind et al. (eds.), Strategies and Tools for Pollutant Mitigation,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63575-6_17
355