A critical review of biosorption of manganese (Mn2+) and nickel (Ni2+) ions from aqueous solutions

Although biosorption is considered a cost-effective, eco-friendly, and straight forward technology to remove toxic metals from aqueous solutions, there are still some gaps that restrain its commercialization. For this purpose, various articles and patents have been published each year to make this technology more economical and effective. We reported a review on the biosorption of manganese ions (Mn2+) and nickel ions (Ni2+) from aqueous solutions. Various biosorbents have been reported for the effective removal of these toxic ions. These biosorbents include algal biomass, fungal biomass, Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces, green tomato husk, corncob biomass, coconut shells, bacteria, Birbira leaves, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, maize stalks, crab shell particles, macroalgae Fucus vesiculosus, and rice bran. All biosorbents have good capacity of adsorption particularly algal and fungal biomasses. pH study, kinetic investigations, initial concentration, temperature, thermodynamic study and application of isotherms have been evaluated for biosorption of manganese ions (Mn2+) and nickel ions (Ni2+).