Editors: Dr. Natchimuthu Karmegam

Dr. Mani Prakash

ISBN: 978-93-94174-13-9

Karthikeyan Vidhya, Gopalakrishnan Abirami, Malayandi Jayanthi, Krishna Kumar Ashok Kumar and Muthusamy Suganthi

Department of Biotechnology, Vels Institute of Science, Technology & Advanced Studies (VISTAS), Pallavaram - 600117, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Heavy metal pollution from mining, metallurgical processes and other chemical industries is a global issue that affects both the human health and environment. Heavy metals are biodegradable and thus persist in the environment. Contamination produced by the presence of these hazardous heavy metals has now become a global issue, despite the fact that the severity and level of contamination vary by location. Heavy metals, unlike organic substances that naturally degrade, do not break down and hence accumulate at many key locations. As an outcome, sustainable living necessitates the development of safe and effective methods for removing these heavy metals by environment friendly cleaning processes. Heavy metal bioremediation is a process of cleaning up of a contaminated environment by using microorganisms to convert dangerous heavy metals into a less harmful form. Despite the rising concentrations of these dangerous heavy metals, microorganisms have developed a range of ways to adapt to these poisonous heavy metals such as lead, mercury, zinc, nickel and others, resulting in their immobilisation, elimination or detoxification. The sources of heavy metals, their lethal effects on human health, and recent investigations on the bioremediation of these deadly heavy metals utilising microbes are covered in this chapter. It also discusses microbiological techniques for removing these dangerous heavy metals from the environment at a quick rate, as well as future prospects and constraints of bioremediation.

*Corresponding author; e-mail: sugenthi88@gmail.com

Cite this Chapter: Vidhya, K., Abirami, G., Jayanthi, M., Ashok Kumar, K., Suganthi, M., 2022. Heavy metal bioremediation using microbes. In: N. Karmegam and M. Prakash (Eds.), Status, Trends and Advances in Bioremediation. Excellent Publishers, India. pp. 112-125. doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/978-93-94174-13-9_6