Metal Bioleaching from E-waste Using Fungal Communities

Abstract

This article is intent on the bioleaching of metals from e-waste using fungal communities. These communities are employed to retrieve valuable HMs present in the e-waste. The key components of e-waste cause an enormous level of environmental pollution. The toxic metals impose serious health concerns on the residing flora and fauna of the earth. The conventional bioleaching methods such as chemical bioleaching using solvents and different chemicals result in the generation of secondary waste. However, microbial bioleaching is an alternative to chemical bioleaching. But, the use of bacteria for bioleaching purposes has its limitations too in their reaction cycle and leaching efficiency. The literature on the use of fungal species for e-waste bioleaching purposes is very limited. Therefore, the present article provides an overview of the fungal bioleaching mechanism from e-waste.