Mechanisms of removing pollutants from aqueous solutions by microorganisms and their aggregates: A review

Abstract

With the public's enhanced awareness of eco-safety, environmentally benign measures based on micro-organisms and microbial aggregates have become more accepted as methods of removing pollutants from aquatic systems. In this review, the application of microorganisms and microbial aggregates for removing pollutants from aqueous solutions is introduced and described based on mechanisms such as assimilation, adsorption, and biodegradation. The advantages of and future studies regarding the use of microorganisms and microbial aggregates to remove pollutants are discussed. Due to the limitation of a single microorganism species in adapting to heterogeneous conditions, this review demonstrates that the application of microbial aggregates consisting of multiple photoautotrophic and heterotrophic micro-organisms, is a promising method of removing multiple pollutants from complex wastewaters and war- rants further research