POTENCIAL DE CIANOBACTÉRIAS PROVENIENTES DE PESQUE-PAGUES PARA BIORREMEDIAÇÃO DE ÁGUAS CONTAMINADAS POR ARSÊNIO

Abstract

The pollution of water resources has led serious consequences for the environment and for public health. Mining is responsible for a major water contamination, mainly by elements such as arsenic (As), which has received special attention from official governments and public health due to their toxic effects at high concentrations, caused by prolonged exposure of living organisms, especially humans. Studies on remediation of contaminated areas using microorganisms (bioremediation) have been performed, and therefore are expected to obtain natural techniques with relatively low cost and without compromising the environment even more. Cyanobacteria, organisms resistant to As, has been used in several studies, with the advantage over other microorganisms due to their low biomass, which facilitates disposal. This study aimed to investigate the potential biorremediador for cyanobacteria in different concentrations of As, by evaluation of its growth and its absorption capacity. The growth patterns were conducted comparing the content of chlorophyll (Chl a) in different dosages: 0, 50.0, 150.0, and 250.0 mg/L in the form of sodium arsenate (Na2AsHO4. 7H2O). After ten (10) days of exposure, it was demonstrated that the production of the chl a changed depending on the concentration of As, decreasing with increasing concentration. The analysis to determine the absorption of As was performed in the pellet, the results showed that the absorption of As increases with the concentration of it in the culture. It is concluded that the cyanobacteria responded well to such concentrations and may be considered with good potential biorremediador for arsenic. Keywords: Bioremediation, cyanobacteria, arsenic, chlorophyll a, water.