Sustainable & Scalable Heavy Metal Removal from Water Using Yeast

Traces of heavy metals in water resources, resulting from mining activities and e-waste discharge, pose a significant global threat, with lead being one of the most abundant and toxic contaminants. Incidents of lead-contaminated drinking water have prompted revisions of water regulations, as the US Environmental Protection Agency considers no level of lead in drinking water to be safe. Conventional treatment processes struggle to remove trace lead from drinking water in a resource efficient manner.<br/><br/>In this talk, I will demonstrate how the yeast <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> can facilitate the effective removal of trace lead from water through a rapid mass transfer process known as biosorption. I will also showcase the role of nanomechanical testing in deciphering the biosorption mechanism in yeast cells, alongside micromechanical testing allowing for scaling up the approach through yeast-laden hydrogel capsules. Finally, I will discuss how, yeast, a model organism in biology, has been tested in space for its radiation resistance, indicating its potential for applications in space missions. This research not only paves the way for a new generation of environmentally friendly, highly effective, and sustainable biosorbents targeting emerging contaminants but also opens up promising implications for water purification technologies in space exploration.