A review of the application of fungi as an effective and attractive bio-adsorbent for biosorption of heavy metals from wastewater

One of the most hazardous environmental pollutants is the pollution risen by heavy metal ions in effluents, which is increasing due to the increasing human activity and the development of urbanization. Notwithstanding the economic challenges to control the pollution of effluent treatment processes, it seems necessary to provide effective approaches. The sorption method is widely used due to low-cost, flexibility in design and operation, repeatability, and significant performance. Hence, the need for more environmentally friendly sorbents to eliminate metal ions is greater than ever. Due to the unique features such as the presence of chitin and chitosan in the cell wall, high absorption capacity, environmental friend-liness, availability, and cheapness, the use of fungi as adsorbent has received much attention. Therefore, this work tries to address the use of fungi as biosorbents to remove these metals, the dangers of heavy metals, and their sources. Moreover, equilibrium, kinetic, and thermodynamic behaviors of the heavy metal ion adsorption process in the literature are briefly studied.