Abstract-Ninety bacterial isolates from copper-contaminated wastewater from a local semiconductor company were screened for resistance to varying concentrations of copper. Of the copper-resistant isolates, 49 produced biofilm at varying thickness on microtiter plate using Tryptic Soy Broth as substrate. Isolate T21 could tolerate up to 125 ppm copper and was provisionally identified as Bacillus megaterium based on comparative analysis of 16S rRNA sequences. Isolate T21 was immobilized as biofilm on a 30-liter fixed-bed upflow reactor using polyvinyl chloride corrugated pipe and Tryptic Soy Broth combined with alcohol distillery slop (75:25 v/v) as carrier and growth medium, respectively. When used to treat copper-containing wastewater effluent from a local semiconductor company, the immobilized biofilm reduced copper to as much as 65.95%, showing potential to clean up copper-contaminated wastewater.
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