Removal of heavy metals using a brewer's yeast strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Chemical speciation as a tool in the prediction and improving of treatment efficiency of real electroplating effluents

Abstract

In the present work, the influence of the competitive effect of inorganic ligands (carbonates, chlorides, fluorides, phosphates, nitrates and sulphates), which can be present in real multi-metal electroplating effluents, on the biosorption of chromium, copper, nickel and zinc ions by yeast cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was rationally examined. Additionally, chemical speciation studies allowed optimizing the amount of yeast biomass to be used in the treatment of effluents contaminated with nickel. The applicability of chemical simulation studies was tested using two simulated effluents and validated using one real electroplating effluent, all containing high concentrations of nickel (about 303 micro mol l(-1)). For nickel removal, heat-killed biomass of a brewing flocculent strain of S. cerevisiae was used, in a batch mode. After the implementation of the bioremediation process (12 g dry weight l(-1) of yeast cells), the concentration of nickel in the real effluent (34 micro mol l(-1)) reached the quality criteria for industrial effluents discharge, after the second or third batch according to the U.S.-Environmental Protection Agency and Portuguese law, respectively. This corresponded to a removal of nickel of 89%.

Economically Viable Fungal Production by Using Alternative Plant Material for the Removal of Heavy Metal

“…Other metals such as iron and nickel were also present (Machado et al, 2011). The organic load of both the effluent was very low (Machado et al, 2010(Machado et al, , 2011Javaid et al, 2011). The analysis of electroplating effluent is revealed that it contained comparatively higher concentrations of Cu (II) than CETP effluent.…”

Cleanup of industrial effluents containing heavy metals: a new opportunity of valorising the biomass produced by brewing industry

“…Industrial effluents can present organic (such as EDTA) and/or inorganic ligands (carbonates, chlorides, fluorides, phos-phates, nitrates, and sulphates) (Naja and Volesky 2010b); these ligands can also affect species distribution through complexa-tion, which reduces metal availability to be removed by yeast cells (Machado et al 2010a). It has been shown that the presence of fluorides, affected, deeply, Cr removal in an indus-trial effluent containing Cr(III), Cu(II), and Ni(II).…”

“…the free and labile metal will be removed by yeast cells (Hughes and Poole 1991; a removal of 29 and 32 % of Sn and Cr, respectively, was described (van Wyk 2011). An efficient treatment of an real electroplating effluent containing nickel using flocculent brewing heat-inactivated biomass was described by Machado et al (2010a).…”

Actinobacteria Isolation from Metal Contaminated Soils for Assessment of their Metal Resistance and Plant Growth Promoting (PGP) Characteristics

“…One includes those essential for life, generally incorporated into enzymes and cofactors, but which become toxic in higher doses by militantly binding to enzymes and DNA and production of oxygen radicals via Fenton reaction (e.g., Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn,Co, Ni, Cr) The non essential metals are always toxic even in low concentrations (e.g., Hg, Cd, Pb) (Valls and Lorenzo, 2002). Presence of high concentrations of these heavy metals can directly affect the soil fertility and cause serious ecological problems, affecting the food chain, as well as exposing humans to health risks (Machado et al, 2010). Removal of these heavy metals from the environment using physicochemical processes is expensive, requiring a lot of energy and material, so that resorting to biological means, like the use of microorganisms offers an efficient substitute.…”