Biosorption and equilibrium isotherms study of cadmium removal by Nostoc muscorum Meg 1: morphological, physiological and biochemical alterations

Rice fields of Meghalaya especially in the coal mining belt receive water contaminated by effluents from mines that are known to carry harmful heavy metal ions such as Cu, Fe, Zn, Ni, Cd, As, Pb, Cr, etc. Cd exposure was analyzed in the cyanobacterium Nostoc muscorum Meg 1 isolated from a contaminated rice field in Sohra, Meghalaya, India. Toxicity study established 0.5 ppm on day 3 to be the LD50. At LD50 chlorophyll a and total protein concentration was reduced by 50.9 and 52.5%, while nitrogenase and glutamine synthetase activities were inhibited by 40.8 and 38.4%. EDX and FTIR analyses confirmed Cd binding and participation of hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl and phosphate groups in biosorption of Cd onto the cell surfaces. SEM study established morphological changes. At pH 8.0 and temperature 25 +/- 2 degrees C, the cyanobacterium removed 92% Cd within 24 h. Of this, 91% Cd was adsorbed on the cell surface while 4% was internally accumulated. The energy required for internal accumulation of Cd was partly provided in the form of ATP synthesized during active photosynthesis. The Lang-muir isotherm was found best fitted with a R-2 value 0.98 when compared to Freundlich and Temkin adsorption isotherms. The maximum sorption capacity, Qmax, of the organism was 71.4 mg of Cd per g of biomass. RL value of 0.29 indicated favorable interaction between cyanobacterial biomass and Cd. The adsorption intensity, n value 7.69 g/L obtained from Freundlich isotherm showed that the organism possessed high Cd sorption capacity.