Removal of Toxic Heavy Metals from Contaminated Aqueous Solutions Using Seaweeds: A Review

Heavy metal contamination affects lives with concomitant environmental pollution, and seaweed has emerged as a remedy with the ability to save the ecosystem, due to its eco-friendliness, affordability, availability, and effective metal ion removal rate. Heavy metals are intrinsic toxicants that are known to induce damage to multiple organs, especially when subjected to excess exposure. With respect to these growing concerns, this review presents the preferred sorption material among the many natural sorption materials. The use of seaweeds to treat contaminated solutions has demonstrated outstanding results when compared to other materials. The sorption of metal ions using dead seaweed biomass offers a comparative advantage over other natural sorption materials. This article summarizes the impact of heavy metals on the environment, and why dead seaweed biomass is regarded as the leading remediation material among the available materials. This article also showcases the biosorption mechanism of dead seaweed biomass and its effectiveness as a useful, cheap, and affordable bioremediation material.

Automated summary

Seaweeds have emerged as a preferred sorption material for heavy metal remediation due to their eco-friendliness, affordability, availability, and effective metal ion removal rate. The use of dead seaweed biomass for metal ion sorption offers advantages over other natural sorption materials, showcasing outstanding results in treating contaminated solutions. This article highlights the potential of dead seaweed biomass as a leading remediation material for heavy metal pollution and the effectiveness of its biosorption mechanism.