Journal of Biotechnology & Biomaterials
Open Access

Abstract

The time-dependent accumulation of heavy metals from residual waters of an engineering plant was investigated using two cyanobacteria, Spirulina platensis and Nostoc linckia. The degree of metal retention present in wastewater increased rapidly in the first 5-30 min of the reaction, then stayed approximately at the same level or slightly decreased. Neutron activation analysis allowed determination of 18 elements: Na, Mg, Ca, Cl. Sc, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Co, As, Br, Rb, Sr, Sb, Ba, Cs, and U in the microbial biomass. The accumulation of Cr, Ni, Co, Zn, As, and Sr by Nostoc linkia is higher than by Spirulina platensis due to the metal binding to the different chemical functional groups of the cyanobacteria cells. Spirulina platensis shows good binding capacity for Sc, Sb, Rb, and U. The amount of iron accumulated by both cyanobacteria was at the same level. Biological post-treatment of wastewaters permits its reuse in the enterprise water cycle, therefore the accumulated cyanobacteria biomass can be potentially used as a fertilizer in agriculture.

Biography