Immobilization of microbial cells: A promising tool for treatment of toxic pollutants in industrial wastewater

Abstract

The review articles on cell immobilization have been published since 1980 and reflect the general interest in this topic. Immobilized microbial cells create opportunities in a wide range of sectors including environmental pollution control. Compared with suspended microorganism technology, cell immobilization shows many advantages, such as resistance to toxic chemicals. This review presents the potential of immobilized microbial cells for treatment of toxic pollutants in industrial wastewater, the fundamentals, history and advantages of immobilized cells compared with suspended cells, characteristics of support materials and the principal methods of immobilization, with special emphasis for natural immobilization by cell adsorption. Key words: Cell immobilization, microorganisms, adsorption, toxic pollutants, wastewater.