Bioremediation of Waste Water from Cadmium Pollution using Silicon Dioxide Nanoparticles and Fungal Biomasses

Abstract

The aim of this paper was cadmium removal from waste water using SiO2 nanoparticles and fungal biomasses. Five treatments were used for cadmium removal. They were inactivated mycelia of Cladosporium sphaerospermum (CLA) and Fusarium oxysporum (FUS), SiO2 nanoparticles (N-Si) and their combinations (N-Si-CLA and N-Si-FUS). The biosorbents natures and combinations were examined by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) where close attachments between combined biosorbents were detected. Different factors affecting cadmium biosorption capacity were tested. It was found that (N-Si-CLA) and (N-Si-FUS) were the most potent biosorbents at pH 7. Thirty minutes contact time exerted maximum sorption capacity. Initial cadmium concentration was optimum at 0.5 mol-1 for highest biosorption capacity. Ca2+ displayed synergistic interfering more than Na+ and K+, respectively. Two real waste water samples collected from two factories were tested to depollute cadmium using the five sorbents. (N-Si-CLA) and (N-Si-FUS) were the most potent adsorbents, where 65.73 % and 54.30% removed in the first sample and 61.33 % and 56.50 % in the second one, respectively. From the results, it was concluded that bioremediation of cadmium from waste water was possible by using SiO2 nanoparticles and fungal biomasses with high efficiency of their combinations.

Keywords

• silicon dioxide nanoparticles
• waste water
• cadmium pollution
• bioremediation
• heat inactivated fungal biomasses
• immobilization