Abstract
The extracted biomasses of four cyanobacteria (Nostoc carneum, Nostoc insulare, Oscillatoria geminata, and Spirulina laxissima) grown in axenic mass cultures, and of four samples of Laminaria obtained from different locations (L. digitata I and II, France; L. japonica I and II, China; all waste products from alginate production) were tested for their ability to adsorb four radionuclides (134Cs, 85Sr, 226Ra, and 241Am) under different pH regimes. In addition, two of the cyanobacterial biomasses (N. carneum. and O. geminata) and the four Laminaria biomasses were phosphorylated before being tested as radionuclide adsorbers. The non-phosphorylated cyanobacterial biomasses showed very low adsorption of 134Cs but substantially higher removal of 85Sr and 226Ra, which increased with increasing pH. 241Am was almost completely removed from the solution at low pH, but less at higher pH. After phosphorylation, removal of 134Cs, 85Sr and 226Ra by the cyanobacterial biomasses was improved, particularly at lower pH, but there was almost no adsorption of 241Am. The non-phosphorylated Laminaria biomasses showed good removal of 134Cs and very good adsorption of 85Sr and 226Ra. Removal of 241Am was high at low pH but decreased with increasing pH. After phosphorylation, adsorption of 134Cs by Laminaria samples was slightly improved; removal of 85Sr and 226Ra was increased at low pH with a tendency towards decrease in adsorption with increasing pH; but almost no 241Am was adsorbed. The origin of the cyanobacterial and Laminaria materials appeared to have little effect on the adsorption of the radionuclides.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adam C, Garnier-Laplace J (2003) Bioaccumulation of silver-110 m, cobalt-60, cesium-137, and manganese-54 by the freshwater algae Scenedesmus obliquus and Cyclotella meneghiana and by suspended matter collected during a summer bloom event. Limnol Oceanogr 48:2303–2313
Boisson F, Hutchins DA, Fowler SW, Fisher NS, Teyssie JL (1997) Influence of temperature on the accumulation and retention of 11 radionuclides by the marine alga Fucus vesiculosus (L.). Marine Poll Bull 35:313–321
De Philippis R, Paperi R, Sili C, Vincenzini M (2003) Assessment of the metal removal capability of two capsulated cyanobacteria, Cyanospira capsulata and Nostoc PCC 7936. J Appl Phycol 15:155–161
Fehrmann C, Pohl P (1993) Cadmium adsorption by the non-living biomass of microalgae grown in axenic mass culture. J Appl Phycol 5:555–562
Fisher NS (1985) Accumulation of metals by marine picoplankton. Marine Biol 87:137–142
Fourest E, Volesky B (1997) Alginate properties and heavy metal biosorption by marine algae. Biochem Biotechnol 67:215–226
Heldal HE, Stupakoff I, Fisher NS (2001) Bioaccumulation of 137Cs and 57Co by five marine phytoplankton species. J Environ Radioact 57:231 –236
Holan ZR, Volesky B, Prasetyo I (1993) Biosorption of Cadmium by biomass of marine algae. Biotechnol Bioeng 41:819–825
Pan JF, Lin RG, Ma L (2000) A review of heavy metal adsorption by marine algae. Chin J Oceanol Limnol 18:260–264
Kalin M, Wheeler WN, Meinrath G (2004) The removal of uranium from mining waste water using algal/microbial biomass. J Environ Radioacti 78:151–177
Klimmek S, Stan H-J, Wilke A, Bunke G, Buchholz R (2001) Comparative analysis of the biosorption of cadmium, lead, nickel, and zinc by algae. Env Sci Technol 35:4283–4288
Kloareg B, Demarty M, Mabeau S (1986) Polyanionic characteristics of purified sulphated homofucans from brown algae. Int J Biol Macromol 8:380–386
Kohlhase M, Pohl P (1988) Saturated and unsaturated sterols of N2 fixing blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) grown in a freshwater medium containing 10% seawater. Phytochemistry 27:1735–1740
Kratochvil D, Volesky B (1998) Advances in the biosorption of heavy metals. Trends in Biotechnol 16:291–300
Kuyucak N, Volesky B (1990) Biosorption by algal biomass. In Volesky B (ed.), Biosorption of heavy metals, CRC Press. Boston, pp 173–198
Nigro SA, Stirk WA, van Staden J (2002) Optimising heavy metal adsorbance by dried seaweeds. South Afr J Bot 68:333–341
Pickering DC, Lucas JW (1962) Uptake of radiostrontium by an alga, and the influence of calcium ion in the water. Nature 193:1046–1047
Pohl P (1982) Lipids and fatty acids of microalgae. In Mitsui A, Black CC, Zaborsky OR (eds), CRC-Handbook of biosolar resources. Vol I, part 1, CRC Press, Boca Raton. Florida: pp. 383–404
Pohl P, Kohlhase M, Krautwurst S, Baasch KH (1987) An inexpensive inorganic medium for the mass cultivation of freshwater microalgae. Phytochemistry 26:1657–1659
Pohl P, Poluljach O, Winter C, Xu R (2000) Schwermetall-Adsorption durch die extrahierten Biomassen von Cyanobakterien und anderen Mikroalgen sowie von semi-makroskopischen und makroskopischen Braunalgen. Schriftenreihe des SFB 193 der TU Berlin, Biologische Abwasserreinigung, 14:153–160
Pohlmeier A (1999) Metal speciation, chelation and complexing ligands in plants. In Prasad MNV, Hagemeyer J (eds) Heavy metal stress in plants, springer. Heidelberg, pp 39–50
Radway JC, Wilde EW, Whitaker MJ, Weissman JC (2001) Screening of algal strains for removal capabilities. J Appl Phycol 13:451–455
Sandau E, Sandau P, Pulz O (1996) Heavy metal sorption by microalgae. Acta Biotech 16:227–235
Sar P, Kazy SK, D'Souza SF (2004) Radionuclide remediation using a bacterial biosorbent. International Biodeterioration & Biodegr 54:193–202
Smith JT, Voitsekhovitch OV, Hakanson L, Hilton J (2001) A critical review of measures to reduce radioactive doses from drinking water and consumption of freshwater foodstuffs. J Environ Radioact 56:11–32
Tsezos M (1990) Biosorption of radioactive species. In Volesky B (ed.), Biosorption of heavy metals. CRC Press, Boston, pp 45–50
Volesky B (1987) Biosorbents for metal recovery. Trends Biotechnol 5:96–101
Volk RB (1996) Kontrollierte Massenzucht von Mikroalgen unter zwei Gesichtspunkten: Zwei-Stufen-Kultivierung zur Steigerung der Carotinoid- und Phycobiliprotein-Produktion und Suche nach Wachstumsinhibitoren aus Mikroalgen-Nährlösungen, Dissertation, Universität Kiel
Wilde EW, Benemann, JR (1993) Bioremoval of heavy metals by the use of microalgae. Biotechnology Advances 11:781–812
Winter C, Winter M, Pohl P (1994) Cadmium adsorption by non-living biomass of the semi-macroscopic brown alga, Ectocarpus siliculosus, grown in axenic culture and localization of the adsorbed Cd by transmission electron microscopy. J Appl Phycol 6: 479–487
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pohl, P., Schimmack, W. Adsorption of Radionuclides (134Cs, 85Sr, 226Ra, 241Am) by Extracted Biomasses of Cyanobacteria (Nostoc Carneum, N. Insulare, Oscillatoria Geminata and Spirulina Laxis-Sima) and Phaeophyceae (Laminaria Digitata and L. Japonica; Waste Products from Alginate Production) at Different pH. J Appl Phycol 18, 135–143 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-006-9084-0
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-006-9084-0