ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a general discussion of inorganic chemical toxicity and its impact on organisms and the environment. It discusses the enzymatic and nonenzymatic transformations that may be used to detoxify or modify inorganic materials. The chapter describes some of the applications of microbial transformation to the detoxification and treatment of inorganic hazardous waste. The biodegradation of organic chelating agents may be means by which the solubility and mobility of toxic inorganic materials may be modified. Biosorption of toxic inorganics may be mediated by nonenzymatic processes such as adsorption or flocculation, while bioaccumulation tends to be mediated by enzymatic processes such as intracellular transport and accumulation. Biosorption can exhibit characteristics of complexation, coordination, ion exchange, and inorganic precipitation. The chapter concludes with a discussion on some potential applications of microbial transformation processes to the treatment of inorganic hazardous waste.
