title: Bioremoval of trivalent chromium using Bacillus biofilms through continuous flow reactor.
abstract: Present study deals with the applicability of bacterial biofilms for the bioremoval of trivalent chromium from tannery effluents. A continuous flow reactor was designed for the development of biofilms on different substrates like glass beads, pebbles and coarse sand. The parameters for the continuous flow reactor were 20 ml/min flow rate at 30°C, pH4. Biofilm biomass on the substrates was in the following sequence: coarse sand>pebbles>glass beads (4.8 × 10(7), 4.5 × 10(7) and 3.5 × 10(5)CFU/cm(2)), which was confirmed by CLSM. Biofilms developed using consortium of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus on coarse sand had more surface area and was able to remove 98% of Cr(III), SEM-EDX proved 92.60% Cr(III) adsorption on biofilms supported by coarse sand. Utilization of Bacillus biofilms for effective bioremoval of Cr(III) from chrome tanning effluent could be a better option for tannery industry, especially during post chrome tanning operation.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nanobiotechnology, Nano Bio-Medicine Laboratory School of Bio Sciences and Technology VIT University, Vellore - 632014, India.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sundar
authors.forename: I Mohammed
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Sadiq
authors.forename: Amitava
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chandrasekaran
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D001407:Bacillus / Q000254:growth & development*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D002857:Chromium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007194:India; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D013633:Tanning; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002857:Chromium