ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the effect of heavy metal in human and aquatic animals, and deals with the biosorption mechanism, techniques, and trends. Plants are exposed to heavy metals through the uptake of water. Cultivation of crops for human or animal consumption on contaminated soil can potentially leads to uptake and accumulation of trace metals in edible plant parts with a possible risk to human and animal health. Source of heavy metals comprises acid mine drainage metals with uranium containing sulfide minerals and low-level radioactive waste material. Biosorption isotherm depicts the relationship between the mass of the adsorbed component per biosorbent mass and the concentration of this component in the solution. Fungi are the large and diverse group of eukaryotic microorganisms, and there are three groups of fungi have major practical importance such as molds, yeasts, and mushrooms. General mechanism of heavy metal removal in microorganisms was very much complicated compared to the conventional methods.
