Characterization of biosorption potential of Brevibacillus biomass isolated from contaminated water resources for removal of Pb (II) ions

Various activities of different industries are found to be the main reason for water pollution with heavy metals. Use of microorganisms that are tolerant even at high concentration of metal ions could be a valuable tool for remediation of contaminated water resources. In the present study, microorganisms that showed high resistance to lead ions were isolated and evaluated for biosorption efficiency for removal of lead ions from waste water. Biochemical identification and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that the isolated strain was Brevibacillus. The conditions of pH, biomass concentration, temperature, time, agitation and Initial concentration of metal for biosorption of Pb (II) were optimized. Based on Induction coupled Plasma Optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) analysis, the biosorption efficiency of Brevibacillus at optimized conditions of initial metal concentration of 150 mu g/mL, 1 g/L of biomass dose, pH 6.0, 40 degrees C, for 12 h at 80 rpm was 78.58% and the biosorption capacity (q(e)) is 128.58 mg/g of the biosorbent. Of the three isotherm models investigated, Freundlich isotherm model was identified as good fit with high correlation coefficient, while kinetic data followed pseudo first order model as best fit. Surface characterization by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed the morphological changes with bulged rod shape cell having metal depositions and rough texture. The presence of lead within the cell was detected by Transmission Emission Microscopy (TEM). The key functional groups that participate in biosorption were analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and were found to be carboxyl, hydroxyl, amino and phosphate groups. From the real time study, it proves that the biomass of Brevibacillus can be used as a promising biosorbent for removal of metals including lead from waste water.