Copper and zinc adsorption from bacterial biomass - possibility of low-cost industrial wastewater treatment.

The increasing interest of all stakeholders to achieve environmental protection with socioeconomic development puts pressure on industrial processes for less negative impact on the environment. The use of biomass for wastewater treatment has increased due to its low costs and technical feasibility. The present study aimed the use of biomass from a waste of known polluted area for the adsorption of Zn and Cu in a fixed-bed reactor. Samples were collected in Cubatão (Brazil) and cultivated in LB medium. Resulting cultivable bacterial communities were identified as Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Adsorption experiments were performed varying the metallic ion concentration and the amount of biomass. Adsorption experiments showed efficiency rates up to 90%. As the concentration of metallic ions increased, the adsorption efficiency decreased, indicating that the active sites were saturated. Activated charcoal demonstrated lower adsorption rates than biomass. Elution process showed that HNO3 had better efficiency than HCl. Zn adsorption fitted better for Lineweaver-Burk model (Qmax = 200 mg/g of biomass), while Cu adsorption fitted better for Langmuir model (Qmax = 164 mg/g of biomass). Results here demonstrated that the adsorption of Zn and Cu simulating an industrial wastewater by the biomass from a contaminated area is technically feasible.