Author
Listed:
- Bayandza M. Manzini
(Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa)
- Carla Cilliers
(Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa)
- Job Tatenda Tendenedzai
(Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa)
- Nils H. Haneklaus
(Transdisciplinary Laboratory Sustainable Mineral Resources, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria
Unit for Energy and Technology Systems-Nuclear Engineering, North-West University, 11 Hoffman Street, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa)
- Evans Chirwa
(Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa)
- Hendrik G. Brink
(Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa)
Abstract
This study investigates the use of a UASB (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket) reactor operating under continuous anoxic conditions to remediate Pb(II) contamination in aqueous environments. Two experimental runs were conducted to evaluate the microbiome’s performance in removing Pb(II) at varying concentrations, ranging from 80 to 2000 ppm, while monitoring nitrate and Pb(II) levels. Metabarcoding of the 16S rRNA gene was done to understand the detoxification mechanisms utilised by the microbial community in Pb(II) removal. The system demonstrated high robustness, achieving up to 99% Pb(II) removal efficiency with sufficient nutrient availability, particularly at 15 g/L yeast extract (YE), compared to lower nutrient levels of 5 g/L YE. Denitrification was identified as the dominant mechanism of detoxification, supported by additional processes such as biosorption, sulfur-reducing bacterial activity, bioprecipitation, and bioremoval. Analysis of the precipitate recovered from the reactor indicated the presence of elemental lead, PbS, and PbO, highlighting the potential for lead recovery. These findings suggest that the system not only effectively removes Pb(II) from contaminated environments but also offers a sustainable pathway for lead recovery through smelting, making it a promising circular bioremediation strategy. The results indicate that this biological approach is a viable solution for lead pollution and recovery in industrial applications.
Suggested Citation
Bayandza M. Manzini & Carla Cilliers & Job Tatenda Tendenedzai & Nils H. Haneklaus & Evans Chirwa & Hendrik G. Brink, 2024.
"Sustainable Microbial Lead Removal Using an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor: Advancing Eco-Friendly Solutions for Heavy Metal Remediation,"
Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-21, December.
Handle:
RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:23:p:10602-:d:1535958
Download full text from publisher
Corrections
All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:23:p:10602-:d:1535958. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.
If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.
We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .
If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .
Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through
the various RePEc services.