ABSTRACT
Bioadsorption can be described as the removal of substances from solution by biomass materials. This chapter illustrates the potentiality of biosorbent materials and membranes for the treatment of toxic metal ions from water. Biosorption of metal ions can be performed either in the suspension or by the immobilized biomass. A description of the mechanism of biosorption and factors affecting its performance is important for the optimization of the operation conditions for biosorption itself and also for the regeneration of biomass. From the design view, the hybridization of the biosorption and the membrane processes can be categorized to two groups. In first hybrid system, the biosorption is the beginning step and the resulted pretreated heavy metals effluent introduced to the membrane module. In the second hybrid system, the membrane is the first step and the membrane permeate is fed to the biosorption step for post-treating with the biosorbent material.
