Abstract
The adsorptive removal chromium, nickel, copper and cadmium by alginate beads containing a mixed consortium of Yeast, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli in batch and fluidized bed column reactor was investigated. Under optimized conditions (pH 4.5; contact time 3hrs; initial metal concentration of 150mg/L) batch experiments showed that the immobilized mixed culture was successfully used for the removal of these metal ions in waste water. Fluidized bed studies were carried out in with an adsorbent dosage of 1g/L, a flow rate of 132 LPH, a bed height of length of the reactor. Efficiency of biosorption for copper, cadmium, chromium and nickel was found to be 84.62%, 67.17%, 49.25% and 61.02%. Desorption of the exhausted beads was found to be successful, however with a reduced biosorption capacity.
Highlights
One of the most challenging environmental problems is the removal of heavy metals and other toxic contaminants from industrial wastewater of the important metals, Mercury, lead, cadmium, Arsenic and Chromium (VI) are regarded as toxic; whereas, others such as copper, nickel, cobalt and zinc are not as toxic, but their extensive usage and increasing levels in the environment are of serious concerns [1,2,3]
Effect of pH: The experimental results of chromium,cadmium,nickel and copper using mixed cultures of Yeast, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli at varying pH was shown in the Figure 2(A)
The present study evaluated the removal of copper, chromium, nickel and cadmium from synthetic metals solutions using immobilized consortium of Yeast, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli in alginate beads in fluidized bed reactor
Summary
One of the most challenging environmental problems is the removal of heavy metals and other toxic contaminants from industrial wastewater of the important metals, Mercury, lead, cadmium, Arsenic and Chromium (VI) are regarded as toxic; whereas, others such as copper, nickel, cobalt and zinc are not as toxic, but their extensive usage and increasing levels in the environment are of serious concerns [1,2,3]. The search for new eco-friendly and cost-effective technology for the removal of heavy metals from wastewaters has been directed towards biosorption. Biosorption using potential metal biosorbents like algae, bacteria, fungi, and yeast can be an effective technique to decrease the concentration of heavy metal ions in solution [5]. Immobilization of microorganisms in a suitable matrix like polyvinyl alcohol, agar media and sol–gel materials has been proven to be an efficient solution to this problem [11,12]
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