Accumulation of lead by free and immobilized cyanobacteria with special reference to accumulation factor and recovery

Lead accumulation by free and immobilized cyanobacteria, Lyngbya majuscula and Spirulina subsalsa was studied. Exponentially growing biomass was exposed to 1–20 mg L−1 of Pb(II) solution at pH 6, 7 and 8 for time periods ranging from 10 min to 48 h. L. majuscula accumulated 10 times more Pb (13.5 mg g−1) than S. subsalsa (1.32 mg g−1) at pH 6 within 3 h of exposure to 20 mg L−1 Pb(II) solution and 76% of the Pb could be recovered using 0.1 M EDTA. This chelator (2 μM) did not influence Pb accumulation whereas 100 μM citrate increased that of S. subsalsa 6- to 8-fold. L. majuscula filaments enmeshed in a glass wool packed in a column removed 95.8% of the Pb from a 5 mg L−1 Pb solution compared to free and dead biomass which removed 64 and 33.6% Pb respectively. A 92.5% recovery of accumulated Pb from the immobilized biomass suggests that repeated absorption–desorption is possible.