Removal and Selective Recovery of Heavy Metal Ions from Industrial Waste Waters

摘要

Accumulation of toxic metal ions in water supplies is a matter of increasingly grave concern. Primarily the undesirable by-products of mining and industrial activity, these ions can cause acute and chronic illnesses in humans and other animals. In an effort to limit further contamination, development of efficient, widely applicable, low-cost methods for removal of heavy metal ions from waters deserves high priority. One new method that has allowed both the removal and recovery of metal ions from water has been the utilization of microorganisms such as algae. This metal ion sorption process is based upon the natural, very strong affinity of the cell walls of algae for heavy metal ions. There appear to be distinct advantages of the immobilized algal system over other technology currently used for heavy metal ion clean up from waste waters. The goals of the project were (1) to examine the effects of calcium(II) and magnesium(II) on transition metal binding to the algae, (2) to test the immobilized silica-algal polymers for removal of metal ions from electroplating plant waste waters, (3) to evaluate the effects of culturing conditions on the metal binding capacity of the resulting biomass and (4) to investigate the mechanism of metal ion binding to different algae.