Use of pelleted and immobilized yeast and fungal biomass for heavy metal and radionuclide recovery

Louise de Rome, Geoffrey M. Gadd (Lead / Corresponding author)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

109 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The biosorption of uranium, strontium and caesium by pelleted mycelium of two species of fungi, Rhizopus arrhizus and Penicillium chrysogenum and immobilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae was evaluated in both batch and continuous flow systems where the presence of competing cations affected accumulation. The uptake mechanism for the pelleted fungal biomass differed from that of the immobilized yeast, the former being metabolism-independent biosorption of the metals while, in the presence of glucose, uptake in the latter organism was biphasic, surface biosorption being followed by energy-dependent influx. Removal of surface-bound metals was achieved by eluting with mineral acids or carbonate/bicarbonate solutions; a high degree of metal recovery was observed for uranium.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)97-104
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Industrial Microbiology
Volume7
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 1991

Keywords

  • Biosoprtion
  • Fungal pellets
  • Heavy metals
  • Immobilized yeast
  • Radionuclides

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

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