SpringerLink
Log in

Cadmium removal at high concentration in aqueous medium: mediated by Desulfovibrio alaskensis

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Experimental studies were performed to evaluate the high capacity of cadmium removal by Desulfovibrio alaskensis strain 6SR, which is a sulfate-reducing bacterium. The study was conducted in batch cultures of D. alaskensis 6SR in a medium with a high cadmium concentration. The results indicated that bacterial growth was not dramatically affected by the presence of 170 mg/L of cadmium, following a similar behavior to that of the control culture. Besides, we observed a fast production of extracellular polymeric substances, which play an important role in cadmium removal. The bacterium was able to remove 99.9 % of cadmium at the tested concentration. The main mechanism of cadmium removal was its precipitation as cadmium sulfide (yellow precipitate), followed by its adsorption in the polymeric substances. Most cadmium up take occurred within the first 48 h, and the largest cadmium adsorption capacity was achieved at 144 h. Cadmium adsorption dynamics was evaluated by pseudo-first order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models; where the best adjustment was obtained with the pseudo-second-order model. The micrographs, obtained with transmission electron microscopy, showed a very low intracellular and periplasmic accumulation of cadmium in the cells. Thereby, this bacterium facilitates a process of removal and recovery of cadmium at high concentrations without the need of cellular lysis or special washes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aksu Z, Donmez G (2006) Binary biosorption of cadmium (II) and nickel (II) onto dried Chlorella vulgaris: co-ion effect on mono-component isotherm parameters. Process Biochem 41:860–868

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alloway BJ, Steinnes E (1999) Anthropogenic additions of cadmium to soils. In: McLaughlin MJ, Singh BR (eds) Cadmium in soils and plants. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp 97–123

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Arakaki A, Takeyama H, Tanaka T, Matsunaga T (2002) Cadmium recovery by a sulfate-reducing magnetotactic bacterium, Desulfovibrio magneticus RS-1, using magnetic separation. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 98–100:833–840

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arjoon A, Olaniran AO, Pillay B (2013) Co-contamination of water with chlorinated hydrocarbons and heavy metals: challenges and current bioremediation strategies. Int J Environ Sci Technol 10:395–412

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bang SW, Clark DS, Keasling JD (2000) Engineering hydrogen sulfide production and cadmium removal by expression of the thiosulfate reductase gene (phsABC) from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in Escherichia coli. Appl Environ Microbiol 66:3939–3944

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beech IB, Cheung CWS (1995) Interactions of exopolymers produced by sulphate-reducing bacteria with metal ions. Int Biodeterior Biodegration 35:59–72

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Braissant O, Decho W, Dupraz C, Glunk C, Przekop KM, Visscher PT (2007) Exopolymeric substances of sulfate-reducing bacteria: interactions with calcium at alkaline pH and implication for formation of carbonate minerals. Geobiology 5(4):401–411

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cabrera G, Pérez R, Gómez JM, Ábalos A, Cantero D (2006) Toxic effects of dissolved heavy metals on Desulfovibrio vulgaris and Desulfovibrio sp. strains. J Hazard Mater 135:40–46

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Caffrey SM, Voordouw G (2009) Effect of sulfide on growth physiology and gene expression of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough. Anton Leeuwenhoek 97:11–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham DP, Lundie LL Jr (1993) Precipitation of cadmium by Clostridium thermoaceticum. Appl Environ Microbiol 59:7–14

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Das N, Vimala R, Kartika P (2008) Biosorption of heavy metals—an overview. Indian J Biotechnol 7:159–169

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Flemming HC, Wingender J (2001) Relevance of microbial extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs)-Part I: structural and ecological aspects. Water Sci Technol 43:1–8

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Igwe JC, Abia AA (2006) A bioseparation process for removing heavy metals from waste water using biosorbents. Afr J Biotechnol 5:1167–1179

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jong T, Parry DL (2003) Removal of sulfate and heavy metals by sulfate reducing bacteria in short-term bench scale upflow anaerobic packed bed reactor runs. Water Res 37:3379–3389

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Klonowska A, Clark ME, Thieman SB, Giles BJ, Wall JD, Fields MW (2008) Hexavalent chromium reduction in Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough causes transitory inhibition of sulfate reduction and cell growth. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 78:1007–1016

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kolmert Å, Wikström P, Hallberg K (2000) A fast and simple turbidimetric method for the determination of sulfate in sulfate-reducing bacterial cultures. J Microbiol Methods 41:179–184

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li QS, Wu G, Liu X, Liao X, Deng D, Sun Y, Hu Y, Huang Y (2004) Simultaneous biosorption of cadmium (II) and lead (II) ions by pretreated biomass of Phanerochaete chrysosporium. Sep Purif Technol 34:135–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muyzer G, Stams AJM (2008) The ecology and biotechnology of sulphate-reducing bacteria. Nat Rev 6:442–454

    Google Scholar 

  • Naushad M, AL-Othman ZA, Islam M (2013) Adsorption of cadmium ion using a new composite cation exchanger polyaniline Sn(IV) silicate: kinetics, thermodynamic and isotherm studies. Int J Environ Sci Technol 10:567–578

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naz N, Young HK, Ahmed N, Gadd GM (2005) Cadmium accumulation and DNA homology with metal resistance genes in sulfate-reducing bacteria. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 71:4610–4618

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Neria-González I, Wang ET, Ramírez F, Romero JM, Hernández-Rodríguez C (2006) Characterization of bacterial community associated to biofilms of corroded oil pipelines from the Southeast of Mexico. Anaerobe 12:122–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Odermatt A, Suter H, Krapf R, Solioz M (1993) Primary structure of two P-type ATPases involved in copper homeostasis in Enterococcus hirae. J Biol Chem 268:12775–12779

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ojeda JJ, Romero-Gonzalez ME, Pouran HM, Banwart SA (2008) In situ monitoring of the biofilm formation of Pseudomonas putida on hematite using flow-cell ATR FTIR spectroscopy to investigate the formation of inner-sphere bonds between the bacteria and the mineral. Mineral Mag 72:101–106

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pacyna JM, Pacyna EG (2001) An assessment of global and regional emissions of trace metals to the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources worldwide. Environ Rev 9:269–298

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pan ZY, Shen GJ, Zhang LG, Lu ZH, Liu JZ (1997) Preparation of oriented cadmium sulfide nanocrystals. J Mater Chem 7:531–535

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Perry RD, Silver S (1982) Cadmium and manganese transport in Staphylococcus aureus membrane vesicles. J Bacteriol 150:973–976

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Postgate JR (1981) Sulfate-reducing bacteria. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Quintelas C, Rocha Z, Silva B, Fonseca B, Figueiredo H, Tavares T (2009) Biosorptive performance of an Escherichia coli biofilm supported on zeolite NaY for the removal of Cr(VI), Cd(II), Fe(III) and Ni(II). Chem Eng J 152:110–115

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Syasina IG, Khlopova AV, Chukhlebova LM (2012) Heavy-metal and arsenic assessment of the state of the gibel carp carassius auratus gibelio in the Amur River Basin: heavy-metal and arsenic concentrations and histopathology of internal organs. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 62:465–478

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Utgikar VP, Harmon SM, Chaudhary N, Tabak HH, Govind R, Haines JR (2002) Inhibition of sulphate-reducing bacteria by metal sulfide formation in bioremediation of acid mine drainage. Environ Toxicol 17:40–48

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang CL, Michels PC, Dawson SC, kitisakkul S, Baross JA, keasling JD, Clark DS (1997) Cadmium removal by a new strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in aerobic culture. Appl Environ Microbiol 63:4075–4078

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • You KM, Park YK (1998) Cd2+ removal by Azomonas agilis PY101, a cadmium accumulating strain in continuous aerobic culture. Biotechnol Lett 12:1157–1159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zamani AA, Shokri R, Parizanganeh AH, Yaftian MR (2013) Adsorption of lead, zinc and cadmium ions from contaminated water onto Peganum harmala seeds as biosorbent. Int J Environ Sci Technol 10:93–102

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang D, Wang J, Pan X (2006) Cadmium sorption by EPSs produced by anaerobic sludge under sulfate-reducing conditions. J Hazard Mater B138:589–593

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

P.A.L.P. thanks CONACyT for the corresponding support via a graduate scholarship (CONACyT, No. 209840). The authors wish to express their sincere gratitude to the Center of Microscopy, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas—IPN, and to Dr. Miguel Meléndez Lira for his cooperation in the FT-IR analysis, Physics Department, CINVESTAV-IPN.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Division, Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Ecatepec, Tecnológico, Valle de Anáhuac, Ecatepec de Morelos, 55210, Mexico

    M. I. Neria González

  2. Department of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, CINVESTAV-IPN, Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508, San Pedro Zacatenco, Mexico, DF, 07360, Mexico

    P. A. López Pérez & R. Aguilar López

Authors
  1. P. A. López Pérez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. Aguilar López
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. M. I. Neria González
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. I. Neria González.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

López Pérez, P.A., Aguilar López, R. & Neria González, M.I. Cadmium removal at high concentration in aqueous medium: mediated by Desulfovibrio alaskensis . Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 12, 1975–1986 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-014-0601-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-014-0601-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation