Selective biosorption and recovery of Ruthenium from industrial effluents with Rhodopseudomonas palustris strains

Abstract

This study demonstrated for the first time the possibility to remove and partially recover the Ruthenium contained in industrial effluents by using purple non sulfur bacteria (PNSB) as microbial biosorbents. Up to date, the biosorption was only claimed as possible tool for the removal of the platinum-group metals (PGM) but the biosorption of Ru was never experimentally investigated. The PNSBs tested have adsorbed around 40 mg g (dry biomass)(-1) of the Ru contained in the real industrial effluents. At the end of the bioremoval experiments, the amount of Ru recovered from the biomass ranged from 42 % to 72 % of that adsorbed by PNSB, depending by the characteristics of the Ru effluent used. In any case, the use of microbial sorbents such as PNSB for the biosorption and recovery of Ru can be considered a way to reduce both the costs and the impact on the environment of the mining activities needed to obtain the increasing amounts of this rare and precious metal requested by the industrial activities related to its use.

Microbial recovery of metallic nanoparticles from industrial wastes and their environmental applications

“…Reductive precipitation of Rh has also been achieved from wastewater by a sulfate‐reducing consortium . Furthermore, Ru recovery from a plating industry wastewater was described using selective adsorption on Rhodopseudomonas palustris strains . Ru could also be recovered from acetic acid waste solution by adsorption on bacterial biomass/chitosan .…”

Recovery of critical metals using biometallurgy

“…Ngwenya et al demonstrated the uptake and reductive precipitation of Rh from a wastewater (PGM producer Anglo American Platinum) by a sulfate-reducing consortium and their extracted enzymes [30]. Finally, Ru recovery from a plating industry wastewater was described using selective adsorption on Rhodopseudomonas strains [31]. All of these streams contained high salt concentrations (40–300 g L −1 ) and a range of bacteriostatic metals such as Cu.…”

Exopolymer produced byPseudomonas aeruginosa: A super sorbent for ruthenium

“…Chitosan, a biopolymer obtained by deacetylation of chitin, was reported to be a chelating adsorbent for radioactive ruthenium [11]. A microbial biosorbent, derived from Rhodopseudomonas palustris, was reported to be able to selectively remove and A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 3 recover ruthenium from effluents of Ru-plating industries, for reducing the cost of electrodeposition and environmental impact [9]. This has inspired us to look for potential biosobents for ruthenium removal from aqueous solutions.…”

“…Platinum group metals (PGM) such as Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, and Pt are of high economic value and in great demand due to their limited abundance in earth, complex extraction procedures from ores and superior catalytic activity [9]. The solution behaviour of ruthenium is complicated due to its existence in many oxidation states and its complexation chemistry [10].…”

“…The solution behaviour of ruthenium is complicated due to its existence in many oxidation states and its complexation chemistry [10]. In literature, very few sorbents [9][10][11] have been reported for the removal of ruthenium.…”