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The Mechanism of Metal Cation and Anion Biosorption

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Microbial Biosorption of Metals

Abstract

The passive, not metabolically mediated, biosorption uptake of metals by (dead) biomass appears as a powerful tool for somewhat selectively removing heavy metals from solution. Immobilization of dissolved toxic heavy metals and their physical removal by biosorption in a water puricication process is not only technically feasible but it may prove to be economically quite attractive. In order to effectively optimize such a process, the mechanisms involved in metal biosorption need to be well understood and the metal speciation in aqueous solutions has to be taken into consideration as it plays an important role.

As phenomena of complexation, coordination, chelation, ion exchange, adsorption, inorganic microprecipitation may all be involved in the overall metal uptake by biosorption, the configuration and state of the active binding site in the biomass have to be well understood. The state and effectiveness of the binding site is, to a large degree, also affected by the environmental conditions such as pH, temperature and ionic strength of the solution. Because of the multiparameter complexity of the sorption system it is most useful to express the interdependence of the key parameters mathematically whereby the set of equations could be organized into a model of the sytem that could be used for predicting its metal uptake performance under different conditions. The elements and fundamentals of the approach are discussed and outlined in the chapter.

When the microprecipitation phenomenon and physical collection of insolubilized metal is excluded, extensive research results indicate that ion exchange tends to be the dominant metal immobilization mechanism in biosorption. The fact that this phenomenon is in most cases reversible offers an attractive possibility of effective wash-release of the deposited metal, resulting in a highly concentrated regeneration solution suitable for some conventional metal recovery and a refreshed biosorbent material ready for another metal uptake cycle. This feature undoubtedly reinforces the feasibility and competitiveness of the metal biosorption process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Science Department, Everglades Foundation, 18001 Old Cutler Road, 33157, Palmetto Bay, FL, USA

    Ghinwa Naja

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, 3610 University Street, H3A 2B2, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Bohumil Volesky

Authors
  1. Ghinwa Naja
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  2. Bohumil Volesky
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Correspondence to Ghinwa Naja .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technolo, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiol, Institute of Chemical Technology, Technicka 3, Prague, 16628, Czech Republic

    Pavel Kotrba

  2. Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technolo, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiol, Institute of Chemical Technology, Technicka 3, Prague, 16628, Czech Republic

    Martina Mackova

  3. Academy of Sciences of the Czech Rep., Institute of Organic Chemistry and Bioch, IOCB & ICT Joint Laboratory, Flemingovo 2, Prague, 16610, Czech Republic

    Tomas Macek

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Naja, G., Volesky, B. (2011). The Mechanism of Metal Cation and Anion Biosorption. In: Kotrba, P., Mackova, M., Macek, T. (eds) Microbial Biosorption of Metals. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0443-5_3

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