9. Biosorption of Arsenic: An Emerging Eco-technology of Arsenic Detoxification in Drinking Water

Arsenic (As) contamination of drinking water and its severe human health impacts have been a global concern during the last few decades. In order to control the problem of As in drinking water, various chemical based treatment methods, such as coagulation, ion-exchange, adsorption, and reverse osmosis, are used in removing As from water. Most of these methods are not eco-friendly and have several limitations (high material cost, high energy requirements, generation of sludge, etc.) in large-scale practical applications. To overcome these limitations, several studies considered various biological agents as potential low-cost and eco-friendly sound biosorbents in treating As-contaminated water. It has been found that a wide range of biomass such as algae, fungi, bacteria, plant parts, fruit wastes, and agricultural wastes are low-cost, recyclable, no sludge generating and highly effective biosorbents in removing arsenic from water. Thus, biosorption has emerged as an eco-friendly and cost-effective technique in arsenic remediation. The present chapter provides a review of recent literature on As biosorption technologies. The utilization of various biosorbents including their optimum treatment conditions also is extensively summarized to get a better concept about the future scope of As remediation using biosorption method.