Biosorption of heavy metals from aqueous solution by bacteria isolated from contaminated soil.

The study was carried out to analyze the heavy metals biosorption potential of bacteria isolated from electroplating industrial effluents contaminated soil. Bacterial isolates were screened for their multi-metal biosorption potential against copper, nickel, lead and chromium. Bacterial isolate CU4A showed maximum uptake of copper, nickel, lead and chromium in aqueous solution with biosorption efficiency as 87.16 %, 79.62%, 84.92% and 68.12%, respectively. The bacterial strain CU4A was identified as Bacillus cereus following 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The surface chemical functional groups of bacterial biomass were identified by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as hydroxyl, carboxyl, amine and halide, which may be involved in the biosorption of heavy metals. The SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and EDS (Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy) analysis confirmed the adsorption of metals on the bacterial cell mass. The results of our study are significant and could be further investigated for removal of heavy metals from contaminated environment.