Biosorption - A Green Approach for the Sequestration of Cadmium and Chromium from Contaminated Water

Abstract

The release of heavy metals from paint, electroplating, mining industries, etc. is a serious concern. Industrial effluents contain toxic heavy metals such as zinc, cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel, arsenic, etc. The sequestration of heavy metals by chemical processes is costly, time-consuming and causes environmental pollution. The use of microorganisms, example bacteria, actinobacteria, fungi, algae and yeasts for the sequestration of heavy metals is very eco-friendly, economical and fast. The work presented here describes the sequestration of cadmium and chromium from industrial effluent by bacteria Pseudomonas and Enterobacter sp. and fungi Aspergillus and Trichoderma sp. The industrial effluent was collected from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Maharashtra, India. The sequestration of Cd and Cr was less by Pseudomonas sp. which was 0.44 and 0.27 mg g-1 with biomass conc. (0.5 g). The sequestration of Cd and Cr byTrichoderma sp. was 0.51 and 0.36 mg g-1 respectively with biomass conc. (0.5 g). The biosorption is a 'green technology' for the sequestration of heavy metals from industrial effluents, waste water, and other contaminants.