Natural polysaccharides as potential biosorbents for heavy metal removal

Abstract Water pollution arising from the presence of heavy metals including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury above their permissible limits set by the World Health Organization and Environmental Protection Agency has affected agriculture, human health, and aquatic life widely across the world. The toxic nature of heavy metals is due to their nonbiodegradable nature; hence they accumulate in living cells affecting their normal functions, therefore their removal from water is of the utmost importance. Natural polysaccharides originating from different bacteria, fungi, algae, and plant materials provide an efficient alternative to conventional techniques for the treatment of wastewater contaminated by heavy metals. This chapter describes various natural polysaccharides and their composites which can be used as efficient biosorbents for the removal of various heavy metals from wastewater and industrial effluent.