Comparative heavy metal biosorption study of brewery yeast and Myxococcus xanthus biomass

The biosorption for La2+, Co2+, Mn2+, UO22+, Pb2+, Ag+, Zn2+, Cd2+ and Cr2+ by wet and dry biomass form Myxococcus xanthus obtained from laboratory cultures and Saccharomyces cerevisiae from the brewing industry has been studied. M. xanthus biomass was found to be the most efficient biosorbent for all of the metals assayed. However, due to the fact that S. cerevisiae is a low cost residual by-product from the brewing industry, and at the same time yields good levels of biosorption, it is considered in this work to be of great interest for use as a detoxifier of heavy metals contaminated waters. In addition, the use of sodium carbonate as a desorbent agent is discussed where it was possible to recover up to 94,53 % of UO22+ by both M. xanthus and S. cerevisiae biomass. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.