Affiliation:
1. ANKARA ÜNİVERSİTESİ, FEN FAKÜLTESİ, BİYOLOJİ BÖLÜMÜ
Abstract
In the current study, bioremediation of Cu(II) by thermophile Cyanobacterium aponinum has been studied in BG11 media under different conditions. The optimum pH was 9 due to the maximum Cu(II) bioremoval efficiency as 71% in the medium with12.8 mg/L Cu(II). According to the results obtained from the trials, the highest bioremoval was 76.6% in the medium including 9.7 mg/L Cu(II) for incubation period of 10 days. When the effect of increasing temperature (25-45 °C) and biomass [20% and 40% (v/v)] concentrations on bioremediation by C. aponinum was investigated, the highest heavy metal removal was found 75.8% at 45 °C, 12.8 mg/L Cu(II), and 20% (v/v) biomass concentration. It was 76.3% in the medium with 13.8 mg/L pollutant, 40% (v/v) biomass concentration. The qm (maximum specific Cu(II) removal) was found as 6.1 mg/g at 45 °C in BG11 with 40% (v/v) biomass and 13.8 mg/L Cu(II). It has been concluded that Cu(II) bioremediation by thermophile C. aponinum was firstly investigated at various environmental conditions in this study. The results indicated that the tested cyanobacterium had a great potential to remove heavy metals from the aquatic environments, containing Cu(II).