Bioremoval of Chromium (VI) by Chlorella vulgaris Biomass Cultivated in the Presence of Carrot Pomace

Abstract

This work shows the biosorption activity of Chlorella vulgaris, cultivated photoheterotrophically in the presence of an agro-industrial waste, for biological removal of Chromium (Cr) found in high amounts in wastewater. Firstly, the optimization of microalgal growth was examined under photoheterotrophic (BG-11 medium and 0.5 g/L of carrot pomace (CP) sugar) and photoautotrophic (BG-11 medium) conditions. Several significant parameters for biosorption of Cr (VI) onto dry C. vulgaris biomass, such as different concentrations of Cr (VI) (from 5 to 100 mg/L), biosorbent concentration (from 1 to 3 g/L), contact time (0-480 min), and pH (2-10) were optimized. The highest dry weight of microalgae was 0.81 g/L under photoheterotrophic conditions containing CP. Using dry microalgal biomass photoheterotrophically cultivated, the best Cr (VI) bioremoval was obtained as 100% at pH 2 using 3 g/L biosorbent, and 5.5-20.71 mg/L initial Cr (VI) concentrations. These findings suggest that C. vulgaris is an effective biosorbent for heavy metal bioremediation and waste management.

Keywords

• Metal biosorption
• industrial waste
• Chlorella vulgaris
• Cr (VI) removal
• microalgal cultivation

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