ABSTRACT
In recent decades, contamination of soils and water resources has clearly increased, mainly due to more intensive industrial and agricultural activities, causing the discharge of a large number of “heavy metals”, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and dyes, among others. Consequently, soil and water pollution have become some of the most serious global environmental and public health issues, needing immediate attention and sustainable solutions. In this regard, bio-sorption has emerged as one of the most effective low-cost and eco-friendly alternative technologies for water remediation, with minimal ecological damage. Among different biomaterials, pine bark presents chemical characteristics that make it potentially suitable for water remediation. In addition, it can be also applied for soil remediation, decreasing the mobility of soil pollutants, their transfer into water bodies, soil solution, and plant uptake. In this chapter, we review relevant data dealing with this by-product and with its use to decrease risks of soil and water pollution.
