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Pseudomonas striata cell mass was immobilized
in polyvinylchloride (PVC), a neutral carrier to prepare zinc selective
membranes using Dibutyl-phthalate as the plasticizer. Membranes were prepared
using 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7% of bacterial biomass, of which the highest response
was obtained for 5%. Potentiometric response of the electrode was studied
for Zn, Cd and Cu in the concentration range of 10-7 to 10-1
M. A linear trend between the electrode response and the varying metal
concentrations was seen only for Zn2+ ions in the range of
10-4 to 10-1 M. Calibration slope of 22 mV/decade
and detection limit of 510-4 M was obtained for zinc. Electrode
showed a sharp response time of 6 sec and pH optima of 3. Thus, the PVC
membrane containing the bacterial biomass was found to selectively bind
the Zn2+ ions and generate the corresponding potential response
at different zinc concentrations.
Removal of trivalent chromium from tannery effluent by microbial biomass generated from fermentation industry was carried out. Adsorption studies were conducted in batch mode at different adsorbent dosage, pH, initial concentration and contact time. The 94.6 and 64.48% of Cr (III) removal from aqueous solution and tannery effluent was observed at pH 4 by 1% adsorbent dosage, respectively. A comparison of kinetic models and correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.998) indicated that Ho and Mckay kinetic model correlates well with the experimental kinetic data. The surface properties of the adsorbent before and after chromium sorption were characterized by X-ray diffraction and infrared technique. It was concluded that Cr (III) is significantly removed by Aspergillus biomass and can be used economically for the removal of Cr (III) from aqueous solution and tannery effluent.
