Heavy Metal Detoxification by DifferentBacillusSpecies Isolated from Solar Salterns
The biosorption mechanism is an alternative for chemical precipitation and ultrafiltration which have been employed to treat heavy metal contamination with a limited success. In the present study, three species ofBacilluswhich were isolated from solar salterns were screened for their detoxification potential of the heavy metals, lead, chromium, and copper, by biosorption. Biosorption potential of each isolate was determined by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES), and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) as the amount of metal present in the medium after the treatment with the isolates. Bacterial isolates,Bacillus licheniformisNSPA5,Bacillus cereusNSPA8, andBacillus subtilisNSPA13, showed significant level of lead biosorption with maximum of 87–90% byBacillus cereusNSPA8. The biosorption of copper and chromium was relatively low in comparison with lead. With the obtained results, we have concluded that the bacterial isolates are potential agents to treat metal contamination in more efficient and ecofriendly manner.