Feasibility of biosurfactant for the remediation of heavy metal in deep-sea mining tailings

Abstract

Since various natural resources of land areas have been being decreased, it is highly needed to exploit at deep-sea. There are many useful resources to be raw materials in various industries. International environmental guidelines for the sustainable development of deep-sea resources will be set up by international organizations until 2020s. Therefore, high quality remediation technologies should be developed as soon as possible. Biosurfactant can be a solution for this, as one of the most environmentally friendly decontaminants for its low toxicity and high biodegradability. It also has been already applied for the remediation of heavy metals in mine tailings.