Effect of Microbial Siderophore DFOB on Pb, Zn, and Cd Sorption Onto Zeolite

Abstract

Recent studies suggest that siderophores form stable complexes with divalent metals and affect their mobility. In this work, effects of trihydroxamate microbial siderophores and desferrioxamine-B (DFOB) on Pb(II), Zn(II), and Cd(II) sorption by two kinds of synthesized zeolites (13X and Na–Y) as a function of pH were investigated. Results showed that 13X zeolite has a higher sorption affinity for studied metals than Na–Y. DFOB strongly affected metal sorption on both zeolites. Under slightly acidic to neutral condition, DFOB increased the metal sorption on zeolites due to the sorption of positively charged heavy metal–DFOB complexes. Whereas by increasing pH (>7), the mobilizing effect of DFOB was observed for Pb, Zn, and Cd. DFOB drastically decreased (80 %) Zn sorption in alkaline condition. As a result, siderophores can weaken the treatment efficiency of zeolites and increase the bioavailability of metals in soils. Surface complexation modeling revealed that the effects of DFOB on metal sorption by 13X and Na–Y zeolites can be explained by the differences in their surface charge. In general, the result shows the influence of DFOB on metal sorption by zeolites over the pH range 4–9 and decreasing in the sequence Zn > Pb > Cd.