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One step bioconversion of waste precious metals into Serratia biofilm-immobilized catalyst for Cr(VI) reduction

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Abstract

Objectives

For reduction of Cr(VI) the Pd-catalyst is excellent but costly. The objectives were to prove the robustness of a Serratia biofilm as a support for biogenic Pd-nanoparticles and to fabricate effective catalyst from precious metal waste.

Results

Nanoparticles (NPs) of palladium were immobilized on polyurethane reticulated foam and polypropylene supports via adhesive biofilm of a Serratia sp. The biofilm adhesion and cohesion strength were unaffected by palladization and catalytic biofilm integrity was also shown by magnetic resonance imaging. Biofilm-Pd and mixed precious metals on biofilm (biofilm-PM) reduced 5 mM Cr(VI) to Cr(III) when immobilized in a flow-through column reactor, at respective flow rates of 9 and 6 ml/h. The lower activity of the latter was attributed to fewer, larger, metal deposits on the bacteria. Activity was lost in each case at pH 7 but was restored by washing with 5 mM citrate solution or by exposure of columns to solution at pH 2, suggesting fouling by Cr(III) hydroxide product at neutral pH.

Conclusion

A ‘one pot’ conversion of precious metal waste into new catalyst for waste decontamination was shown in a continuous flow system based on the use of Serratia biofilm to manufacture and support catalytic Pd-nanoparticles.

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Abbreviations

Δ:

Displacement propagator: probability distributions of displacement over a set observation time

W:

Work (J) done by an applied force to detach biofilm from the support

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the EPSRC (Grants No. EP/E0122213/1, EP/D05768X/1 and EP/1007806/1) and NERC (Grant No NE/L014076/1). We acknowledge, with thanks, the provision of polyurethane reticulated foam cubes (Filtren TM30) by Recticel, Belgium.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK

    P. Yong & L. E. Macaskie

  2. School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK

    W. Liu & Z. Zhang

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3RA, UK

    D. Beauregard

  4. School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    M. L. Johns

Authors
  1. P. Yong
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  2. W. Liu
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  3. Z. Zhang
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  4. D. Beauregard
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  5. M. L. Johns
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  6. L. E. Macaskie
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to L. E. Macaskie.

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Yong, P., Liu, W., Zhang, Z. et al. One step bioconversion of waste precious metals into Serratia biofilm-immobilized catalyst for Cr(VI) reduction. Biotechnol Lett 37, 2181–2191 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-015-1894-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-015-1894-1

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