Removal of copper(II) ions from aqueous solution by a lactic acid bacterium

Abstract

Enterococcus faecium, a lactic acid bacterium (LAB), was evaluated for its ability to remove copper(II) ions from water. The effects of the pH, contact time, initial concentration of copper(II) ions, and temperature on the biosorption rate and capacity were studied. The initial concentrations of copper(II) ions used to determine the maximum amount of biosorbed copper(II) ions onto lyophilised lactic acid bacterium varied from 25 mg L-1 to 500 mg L-1. Maximum biosorption capacities were attained at pH 5.0 and 6.0. Temperature variation between 20°C and 40°C did not affect the biosorption capacity of the bacterial biomass. The highest copper(II) ion removal capacity was 106.4 mg per g dry biomass. The correlation regression coefficients show that the biosorption process can be well defined by the Freundlich equation. The change in biosorption capacity with time was found to fit a pseudo-second-order equation.