Removal of heavy metals using a brewer’s yeast strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: application to the treatment of real electroplating effluents containing multielements

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2010

Authors

Manuela D. Machado (Author) Other; Eduardo V. Soares (Author) Other; Helena M. V. M. Soares (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology

Pages: 1353-1360

ISSN: 0268-2575

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 21 Citations

ISI Web of Science

Scopus - 22 Citations

COMPENDEX

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-003-2FV

DOI: 10.1002/jctb.2440

Abstract (EN): Yeast cells have been recognized as an effective type of biomass for the treatment of wastewaters containing heavy metals. However, its capability to treat efficiently complex effluents loaded with several metals ions (Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn) has never been reported. The aim of this work was to study the feasibility of a hybrid technology, which combines chemical precipitation at pH 6.0 with a subsequent biotechnological-based process (using heat-killed cells of a flocculent brewing strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae), to remove simultaneously severalmetals from real electroplating effluents. RESULTS: Two effluents containing Cu, Ni and Zn (effluent A) or Cr, Cu and Ni (effluent B) were treated. In both effluents, pH was adjusted to 6.0; in effluent B, Cr(VI) was previously reduced to Cr(III). Chemical speciation studies allowed defining the amount of biomass to be employed with a minimum number of batches. Subsequently to pH adjustment to 6.0, effluents were fully treated with a serial batch of biomass. After the third batch, metal concentrations were lowered to below the legal limits of discharge; removals ≥ 89, 91, 92 and 94% were attained for Ni, Cu, Cr and Zn, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In the present work, the usefulness of using flocculent brewing yeast cells to treat complex industrial effluents loaded with several heavymetalswas demonstrated. The hybrid process developed was shown to be an efficient alternative for the treatment of real electroplating effluents.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific