Natural Biosorbents Applied to the Treatment of Contaminated Soils and Water

Dear Colleagues,

Population growth has brought with it the contamination of all known ecosystems for many years. This includes contamination by plastics, hydrocarbons, agrochemicals, heavy metals, xenobiotic agents, etc., which cause diseases ranging from skin allergies and mutations to cancer and death.

To restore our ecosystems and avoid further calamity, man has used methodologies such as physical–chemical separation, thermal treatments, and hydrometallurgical treatments, to mention a few, which are often expensive and may result in more pollution.

It is of the utmost importance that we create and develop biomaterials with the capacity to eliminate contaminants without causing damage to our environment; biomaterials such as those obtained from microorganisms (bacteria, yeasts, fungi, and algae), as well as biomaterials obtained from agro-industrial waste are of importance.

This Special Issue on recyclable biosorbents applied in wastewater treatment and natural biosorbents applied to the remediation of contaminated soils and water seeks high-quality works focusing on the discovery and development of mechanisms by which bioremediation is carried out in an ecological manner, the elimination of agrochemicals, the elimination of heavy metals and metalloids, and the elimination of plastics. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Biosorption of heavy metals through the use of biomaterials;
• Development of microorganisms capable of soil and water remediation;
• Biotransformation as a possible mechanism for heavy metal removal;
• Bioaccumulation of toxic agents in microorganisms and plants;
• Phytoremediation as a mechanism for cleaning contaminated ecosystems;
• Remediation of dyes from wastewaters;
• The use of biochar in remediation;
• The use of biosurfactants in bioremediation.

Dr. Juan Fernando Cardenas González
Dr. J. Felix Gutiérrez Corona
Prof. Dr. Araceli Tomasini Campocosio
Guest Editors

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• environmental remediation
• environmental microbiology
• environmental chemistry
• biotechnology
• biosorption
• heavy metals
• agrochemicals
• phytoremediation
• biotransformation
• agricultural biotechnology