In this contribution, an NMR imaging study of heavy metal absorption in alginate, immobilized-cell biosorbents, and kombu (Laminaria japonica) algal biomass is presented. This method provides the good possibility of directly monitoring the time evolution of the spatial distribution of the ions in the materials. From these results, we demonstrate that rare earth ions are absorbed with a steep reaction front that can be described very well with a modified shrinking core model, while copper ions are absorbed with a more diffuse front.