K. Vijayaraghavan

Bacterial biosorbents and biosorption

Biosorption is a technique that can be used for the removal of pollutants from waters, especially those that are not easily biodegradable such as metals and dyes. A variety of biomaterials are known to bind these pollutants, including bacteria, fungi, algae, and industrial and agricultural wastes. In this review, the biosorption abilities of bacterial biomass towards dyes and metal ions are emphasized. The properties of the cell wall constituents, such as peptidoglycan, and the role of functional groups, such as carboxyl, amine and phosphonate, are discussed on the basis of their biosorption potentials. The binding mechanisms, as well as the parameters influencing the passive uptake of pollutants, are analyzed. A detailed description of isotherm and kinetic models and the importance of mechanistic modeling are presented. A systematic comparison of literature, based on the metal/dye binding capacity of bacterial biomass under different conditions, is also provided. To enhance biosorption capacity, biomass modifications through chemical methods and genetic engineering are discussed. The problems associated with microbial biosorption are analyzed, and suitable remedies discussed. For the continuous treatment of effluents, an up-flow packed column configuration is suggested and the factors influencing its performance are discussed. The present review also highlights the necessity for the examination of biosorbents within real situations, as competition between solutes and water quality may affect the biosorption performance. Thus, this article reviews the achievements and current status of biosorption technology, and hopes to provide insights into this research frontier.

Surface modification of Corynebacterium glutamicum for enhanced Reactive Red 4 biosorption.

This study reports the possibility of enhancing the reactive dye biosorption capacity of Corynebacterium glutamicum via its cross-linking with polyethylenimine (PEI). The amine groups in the cell wall of C. glutamicum were found to electrostatically interact with reactive dye anions. Thus, cross-linking the biomass with PEI enhanced the primary and secondary amine groups, thereby increased the biosorption of reactive dye. The pH edge experiments revealed that acidic conditions, due to protonation of the amine groups, were found to favor Reactive Red 4 (RR 4) biosorption. According to the Langmuir model, the PEI-modified C. glutamicum recorded a maximum RR 4 uptake capacity of 485.1mg/g compared to 171.9 mg/g of the raw C. glutamicum. The kinetic experiments revealed that chemical modification decreased the rate of biosorption. Desorption was successful at pH 9, with the biomass successfully regenerated and reused over four cycles.

Treatment of complex Remazol dye effluent using sawdust- and coal-based activated carbons.

A complex Remazol dye effluent, comprised of four reactive dyes and auxiliary chemicals, was decolorized using SPS-200 (sawdust-based) and SPC-100 (coal-based) activated carbons. A detailed characterization revealed that the pore diameter of the activated carbon played an important role in dye adsorption. The solution pH had no significant effect on the adsorption capacity in the pH range of 2-10.7. According to the Langmuir model, the maximum uptakes of SPS-200 were 415.4, 510.3, 368.5 and 453.0 mg g(-1) for Reactive Black 5 (RB5), Reactive Orange 16 (RO16), Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR) and Remazol Brilliant Violet 5R (RBV), respectively. Conversely, those of SPC-100 were slightly lower, at 150.8, 197.4, 178.3 and 201.1 mg g(-1) for RB5, RO16, RBBR and RBV, respectively. In the case of Remazol effluent, SPS-200 exhibited a decolorization efficiency of 100% under unadjusted pH conditions at 10.7, compared to that of 52% for SPC-100.

Porogen effect on characteristics of banana pith carbon and the sorption of dichlorophenols

Banana pith was used as precursor material to prepare carbon with and without porogens. Characterization of the carbons showed higher BET surface area (1285 m2/g) for ZnCl2-treated carbon, comparatively. Adsorption experiments were conducted to study the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP) from aqueous solutions using the carbons under varying experimental conditions. Decrease in pH increased the percentage removal. All the carbons studied showed greater percentage of DCP removal with decrease in the initial concentration of DCP. Kinetic studies showed that the adsorption of DCP on the carbons was a rapid process. Nonlinear forms of pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models were used to fit the experimental data. Among these the pseudo-first-order model described the data with high correlation coefficients and low percentage error values. Four nonlinear isotherm models including the Langmuir, Freundlich, Toth, and Sips were used to analyze the experimental DCP isotherms under different pH (2-4) conditions. Adsorption capacities (Qmax) from the Langmuir model were found to be 129.4, 67.7, and 49.9 mg/g for ZnCl2-treated, KOH-treated, and porogen-free carbon, respectively, at pH 2. From desorption studies it seemed that chemisorption played a major role in the adsorption process. The results indicated that ZnCl2-treated carbon could effectively remove phenols from wastewater.

Effect of imidazolium‐based ionic liquids on the photosynthetic activity and growth rate of Selenastrum capricornutum

Ionic liquids (ILs) are low-melting organic salts that are being researched intensively as possible environmentally friendly replacements for volatile organic solvents. Despite their nonmeasurable vapor pressure, some quantities of ILs soon will be present in effluent discharges because solubility of ILs in water is small, but far from negligible. Therefore, it is important to understand how ILs will influence aquatic ecosystems. In the present study, the toxic effects of imidazolium-based ILs (1-butyl-3-methylim-idazolium cation associated with bromide [BMIM][Br] and tetrafluoroborate [BMIM][BF4]) to the freshwater green alga Selenastrum capricornutum were investigated. Two approaches were followed to quantify toxicity of these compounds: Analyses of photosynthetic activity and cell proliferation. The obtained data showed that the relative declines of growth rates generally were more pronounced than those of photosynthetic activity. The ecotoxicity of a range of common organic solvents also was examined. It was revealed that both imidazolium-based ILs studied were some orders of magnitude more toxic than methanol, isopropanol, and dimethylformamide. In addition, with respect to IL incorporating perfluorinated anion, EC50 values (concentrations which lead to a 50% reduction of the exposed organisms relative to control) of the previously prepared stock solution were significantly lower compared to those of the freshly made one. This might be due to hydrolytic effects of [BMIM][BF4] leading to fluoride formation, which was confirmed by ion chromatography analysis. This indicates that, after ILs are discharged into the aqueous system, they can become more toxic than expected by laboratory data with fresh ILs.

Reinforcement of carboxyl groups in the surface of Corynebacterium glutamicum biomass for effective removal of basic dyes

The biomass of Corynebacterium glutamicum was treated with poly(amic acid) to improve the biosorption of Basic Blue 3 (BB3) from aqueous solution. The grafting of poly(amic acid) onto the biomass surface increased the density of the carboxyl groups. The UV-spectrum revealed that strong acidic (pH2) and basic conditions (pH11) resulted in the precipitation of BB3. Therefore, pH edge experiments were conducted only within the range 3-10; these results indicated that electrostatic attraction between carboxyl groups of C. glutamicum and BB3 dye cations was favored under alkaline conditions. From the Langmuir model, poly(amic acid)-modified biomass gave a maximum uptake of 173.6 mg/g at pH 9, compared to 52.8 mg/g by the raw biomass. The biosorption kinetics was found to be fast; with equilibrium attained within 10 min. The increase in the ionic strength strongly affected the uptake of BB3 for both forms of C. glutamicum.

An Aminated Bacterial Biosorbent Capable of Effectively Binding Negatively Charged Pollutants in Aqueous Solution

The main aim of this work was to enhance the biosorption capacity of Corynebacterium glutamicum for the remediation of wastewaters containing Reactive dyes. Amine groups were found to be responsible for accommodating negatively charged Reactive Red 4 (RR4) molecules via electrostatic interaction. Thus, increasing the number of amine groups on C. glutamicum, via amination, resulted in an enhanced RR4 biosorption capacity. The pH-edge experiments revealed that acidic conditions (pH = 2) favoured the biosorption of RR4 molecules. Isotherm experiments indicated that the aminated C. glutamicum exhibited the highest RR4 uptake, i.e. 133.8 mg/g at pH 2, compared to 96.8 mg/g for raw C. glutamicum. Of the two isotherm models considered, the Toth model provided a better description of the experimental isotherms, with high correlation coefficients and low percentage error values. Kinetic experiments revealed the importance of the initial dye concentration, with equilibrium being rapidly attained after ca. 1 h for all the concentrations examined. The non-linear form of the pseudo-second-order model described the biosorption kinetic data, with high correlation coefficients and low percentage error values compared to the pseudo-first-order model. Desorption was successful achieved at pH 10, with > 90.2% elution efficiencies for both the raw and aminated biomasses.