In this study, three agro-waste materials were used as biosorbents for removal of copper (Cu) from water. This work aims to optimise conditions for preparation of these materials to obtain maximum Cu adsorption capacity. The optimal conditions were determined in terms of Cu removal efficiency and/or energy consumption. The results indicate that banana peels dried at 120°C for 2h and ground into...

The metalloregulatory protein MerR, which exhibits high affinity and selectivity toward mercury, was exploited for the construction of microbial biosorbents specific for mercury removal. Whole-cell sorbents were constructed with MerR genetically engineered onto the surface of Escherichia coli cells by using an ice nucleation protein anchor. The presence of surface-exposed MerR on the engineered...

Heavy metals are major contributors to pollution of the biosphere, and their efficient removal from contaminated water is required. Biosorption is an emerging technology that has been shown to be effective in removing very low levels of heavy metal from wastewater. Although peptides such as metallothioneins or phytotchelatins are known to immobilize heavy metals, peptide-based biosorbents have ...

In the present study the use of cheap and ecofriendly biosorbents have been studied as an alternative substitution for commercial activated carbon for the removal of methylene blue from waste water. Batch adsorption study was carried out using inflorescence of Celosia argentea L, stem of Cicer arietinum and cob of Zea mays L as a raw agro waste material. This study investigates the potential us...

During the last years our research group has been studying the use of industrial vegetable wastes as grape stalks and exhausted coffee to remove metals ions such as Ni(II), Cu(II), Pb(II), Zn(II), Cd(II) or Cr(VI) and Cr(III) in aqueous solution from the point of view to use these wastes as biosorbents in a low cost alternative to activated carbon for wastewater treatment. The optimal experimen...

Chemical properties of cationic biosorbents, the orange peel and the lemon peel, have been studied. ATR and Raman spectra indicated that the functional groups in the peels structure responsible for dye sorption are carboxyl groups (COOH and COOM, M=Na,K,Ca,Mg) and hydroxyl groups (OH). Increasing the mass of the peels in water suspensions a decrease in dissociation of both, the –COOH and –COOM ...

The presence of metal ions in aqueous solutions represents a major environmental problem. These inorganic species are persistent and non-biodegradable pollutants that should be eliminated from water. In the recent years biosorption have emerged as an economical and environmental friendly method for the decontamination of polluted water. The present work represents a review of the recently publi...

Ciprofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic that effective in vitro against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms. Since the ciprofloxacin, along with other pharmaceuticals, can influence environment, goal of this study was to examine possibility ciprofloxacin removal from water using biosorbents, an unconventional cheaper subclass adsorbents. For purpose, effect ionic strength, pH, ...

Industrial waste water and sediment containing heavy metals causes many ecological and health related problems. Many conventional methods were already being used to decontaminate the environment from adverse effect of these pollutants but yet most of the methods used are very expensive and far away from their best possible performance. The capability of microorganisms to bind metal ions is a we...