This book provides a current review of the problem of heavy metal removal. Microorganisms and microbial activity in environments of water and soil are presented in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 covers current knowledge about photoactive materials based on porphyrins. This book reports the manner in which plants interact with heavy metals dependent mainly on the type of contamination, species of plant as well as conditions. The book presents biological strategies for the elimination of heavy metals from polluted habitats—phytoextraction, phytostabilization, phytodegradation, phytostimulation, phytovolatilization and phytofiltration. Also included are analytical methods to determine heavy metals in water such as atomic absorption spectrometry, electrochemical methods, colorimetric and chromatographic techniques.
