Towards a Circular Economy: Analysis of the Use of Biowaste as Biosorbent for the Removal of Heavy Metals

Abstract

Industrial human activity has led to the release of substantial amounts of heavy metals into the environment. Contamination of water with heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, copper, zinc, chromium, or nickel represents a serious problem. As part of the circular economy, it is appropriate to use biowaste from agriculture, fisheries, and the timber industry as biosorbents. In this literature review, the potential of using these biowaste groups as biosorbents for metal removal is presented. This biowaste is characterized by the presence of carboxyl, hydroxyl, carbonyl, amide, amine, sulfydryl, and other groups on their surface, which form complexes and chelates with metals present in water. Biosorption seems to be a potential alternative to conventional technologies for removing or recovering heavy metals from water or wastewater, which are uneconomical and generate additional waste. The paper demonstrates that harnessing the potential of biowaste to remove metals is beneficial to the environment as they can solve the problem of incineration and realise recycling that meets the circular economy. Although the choice of a suitable biosorbent for the removal of a particular metal involves a lot of research, the high biosorption efficiency, low cost, and renewability justify their use.