Author : Praphulla Rao, Saisha V, and Shashidhar S Bhavikatti

Heavy metal pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems being faced by the world today. Over the past two decades, an increased interest in the phenomenon of heavy metal ion sequestering by living or inactive microbial biomass has been seen in the scientific and engineering community. In this present study, microbial species – Chlorella Pyrenoidosa was tested for its Chromium (VI) removal capacity from synthetic wastewater solution. Two different matrices for immobilization were compared, namely- calcium alginate and carrageenan. In this study effect of initial metal ion concentration, pH and contact time was studied. It was seen that the carageenaan cubes disintegrated after the 6th day of batch studies. The alginate matrix showed a more stable system for immobilization of biosorbent. The metal ion adsorption efficiency by the algae decreases with the increase in the initial metal ion concentration. Maximum metal uptake by the algae immobilized with calcium alginates beads was observed at pH 3 and concentration of 75mg/l on the 9th day of the study.

Keywords: Heavy metal, Chromium (VI), Chlorella, Immobilization, Wastewater

Article published in the Proceedings of National Conference on ‘Women in Science & Engineering’ (NCWSE 2013), SDMCET Dharwad