(391g) Bioremediation of Cu(II) Metal From Aqueous Solution by Acclimated Mixed Culture

Bioremediation of metal pollutants from industrial wastewater using acclimated mixed culture is a very important aspect of environmental biotechnology. In the present study, the removal of divalent copper [Cu(II)] compound from aqueous solution using bioremediation has been investigated. Acclimated mixed culture developed from activated sludge is used for the bioremediation of Cu(II). At the end of the acclimation period, the biomass concentration and CFU obtained are 0.0187 g/L of solution and 3.2 × 10⁸/mL (for 10² serial dilution) of sample, respectively. The effect of different operating conditions such as contact time, initial pH and amount of nutrient dosage on bioremediation of Cu(II) by acclimated mixed culture are studied in a batch mode. The effect of contact time is studied for an initial Cu(II) concentration ranging from 20-60 mg/L. With increasing initial Cu(II) concentration from 20 mg/L to 60 mg/L shows increase in Cu(II) uptake. The effect of initial pH is also studied by varying the solution pH in the range of 2 – 12. The maximum biomass growth obtained is 0.0115 g/L at pH=7. The maximum percentage removal of Cu(II) is obtained for the initial Cu(II) concentration of 20 mg/L at the solution pH value of 7. Percentage removal of Cu(II) value is also compared with reported value of percentage removal of Cu(II). This study also shows that the microbial growth for Cu(II) uptake is significantly affected by nutrient supply. The optimum biomass growth obtained is 0.0248 g/L at half the standard composition of MSM.