Advances in biosorption of microelements – the starting point for the production of new agrochemicals

Abstract

Abstract This paper reports the advances in biosorption of trace elements to produce value-added products for agriculture. Innovative fertilizers and dietary feed supplements can be produced by biosorption, where micronutrients are bonded with biological material. The process is controlled by the equilibrium between functional groups and micronutrient ions (e.g., Cu(II), Mn(II), Fe(II), Zn(II)), yielding the products with controlled release properties. The latter assumes high bioavailability and low toxicity to plants and animals. This makes it possible to biofortify food of plant and animal (meat, milk, eggs) origin with microelements and produce a new generation of functional food, rich in microelements. Regulatory issues related with micronutrient dietary feed supplements and fertilizers were discussed. Special attention has been paid to micronutrient deficiencies in plant cultivation and animal nutrition and to the methods of overcoming this problem. The applicability of biosorption to supplement bioavailable form of nutritionally significant elements was discussed. Current developments of biosorption-based technologies for agriculture were presented.