Biosorptive performance of an Escherichia coli biofilm supported on zeolite NaY for the removal of Cr(VI), Cd(II), Fe(III) and Ni(II)

Abstract

a b s t r a c tOne of the major environmental concerns of nowadays is the presence of heavy metals in industrial effluents. Aiming a solution for this problem, various efforts have been made towards research and implementation of economic and easily adaptable processes to remove heavy metals. The ability of a biofilm of Escherichia coli supported on NaY zeolite to biosorb Cr(VI), Cd(II), Fe(III) and Ni(II) was investigated in batch experiments aiming the treatment of wastewater with low metal concentrations. The biosorption performance, in terms of uptake, followed the sequence: Fe(III) > Ni(II) > Cd(II) > Cr(VI). The equilibrium data in batch systems were described by Langmuir, Sips and Toth isotherms. The best fit for chromium was obtained with the Toth model isotherm and for cadmium and nickel the best fit was the obtained with the Sips model. The presence of functional groups on the cell wall surface of the biomass that may interact with the metal ion, was confirmed by FTIR. The whole study showed that the biofilm tested is very promising for the removal of metal ions from effluents.

Removal of Sulphate and Manganese on Synthetic Wastewater in Sulphate Reducing Bioreactor Using Indonesian Natural Zeolite

“…A large microorganism accumulation in both the interior of the ruggedness and in the superficial zones of natural zeolite was observed during bioreactor operation. The attachment and colonization of SRB cells on the zeolite surface caused they were more protected from friction [38]. It was also observed that the support surface formed by a compact mass of microorganisms, principally with coccoid and bacillary forms.…”

Cr(VI) sorption by using clinoptilolite and bacteria loaded clinoptilolite rich mineral

“…In recent years, bacteria species supported materials have been used as alternative material. Arthrobacter viscosus supported granular activated carbon and NaY, Escherichia coli supported granular activated carbon, kaolin and NaY zeolite are used in the Cr(VI) removal [36][37][38][39][40][41]. It has been found that the affinities of granular activated carbon, kaolin and NaY zeolite were improved by the attachment of bacteria species on the material surface.…”

A zeoponic system modified with Penicillium simplicissimum for the removal of trace elements from aqueous solutions and gold mine leachates

“…A decrease of biomass was observed after 10 days of growth due to the decrease of nutrients in the medium. Growth of biomass in spite of xenobiotic conditions has been reported in a study by Quintelas et al (2009) in which they observed growth of E. coli on NaY zeolite.…”

“…However, the large scale implementation of in situ attenuation and remediation schemes remains to be extensively explored. Several studies on bioremediation have been reported (Chen et al, 2005;Kumar et al, 2011;Pazos et al, 2010;Quintelas et al, 2009;Zhang et al, 2011). The structural polymers in the cell walls of microorganisms contain functional groups such as carboxyl (COO − ), phosphoryl (R-PO 3 ) and amino (RN-H) groups that largely influence adsorption (Kulczycki et al, 2002).…”

“…Quintelas et al (2009Quintelas et al ( , 2013 reported that the Escherichia coli bio-film on modified zeolite is a very promising way to remove metal ions from effluents due to the fact that both components have an affinity for metal cations. Pazos et al (2010) demonstrated the efficiency of a zeolite-bacteria system while Holan and Volesky (1994) explained that immobilised microbial cells offer many advantages including better reusability, high biomass loading and minimum clogging in continuous flow systems.…”