Comparative study on the biosorption of aluminum by free and immobilized cells of Bacillus safensis KTSMBNL 26 isolated from explosive contaminated soil

The study describes the sorption of aluminum by Bacillus safensis isolated from an explosive contaminate site. In a batch system, the optimum pH, temperature and contact time on biosorption of Al and cell growth were found to be 6.0, 35 degrees C and 24 h, respectively with initial metal concentration of 100 mg/I Al. In immobilization studies, sodium alginate was used as supporting material for cell entrapment under optimized conditions. The variation in the protein banding pattern, functional groups and nature of Al treated and untreated bacterial cells were studied using SDS-PAGE, FTIR and XRD. While comparing the results of batch and immobilized sorption studies, the metal removal efficiency of free cells (92 mg/l) was slightly higher than the immobilized cells (84 mg/I). But the maintenance of high cell density, low processing cost, repeated and continuous uses are all recommends the immobilization technique for large scale water treatment. (C) 2016 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.