The effect of pH and aluminium to bacteria isolated from aluminium recycling industry

Abstract

Aluminium recycling is one of currently growing industries in Indonesia. Abundant amounts of aluminium waste leads to the emergence of new industries. The waste produced from this kind of industry is not well processed yet. Bioremediation using isolated indigenous bacteria is one of the best options from treating the aluminium recycling wastewater. Since biological processes are closely related to the bacterial growth conditions, it is important to understand the effect of pH and aluminium exposure to bacteria. Six potential bacteria strains were obtained from isolation. Vibrio alginolyticus and Brochothrix thermosphacta were shown to be resistant to the aluminium exposure, as well as the acidic conditions. Both types of bacteria were able to survive on acid medium with pH 5. The higher the concentration of aluminium, the slower bacterial growth rate achieved. The MIC value of aluminium for Vibrio alginolyticus was 425 mg/l, Brochothrix thermosphacta was 325 mg/l and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was 200 mg/l.