Determination of kinetic parameters in the biosorption of Cr (VI) on immobilized Bacillus cereus M(1)(16) in a continuous packed bed column reactor.

Due to technological advancement, environment suffers from untreated toxic heavy metal bearing effluent coming from different industries. Chromium (VI) is one of those heavy metals having adverse impact on ecological balance, human, and plant health because of its carcinogenic properties. Biosorption is presented as an alternative to traditional technologies which are costly and inefficient for treatment of industrial wastes containing low amount of heavy metals. In this study, bioremediation of Cr (VI) ions by immobilized Bacillus cereus M(1) (16) was investigated in a laboratory scale packed bed up-flow column reactor. The effect of important parameters, such as the inlet flow rate, influent concentration, and effective bed height, has been studied. External mass transfer, surface adsorption, and intrabead mass transfer were also studied to conclude the rate limiting step for removal of Cr (VI) and to determine the process parameters which are important for biosorption optimization. The external mass transfer coefficient was calculated at different flow rates (6.51 x 10(-2) to 7.58 x 10(-2) cm/min). Using the model, the surface adsorption rate constant (k(ad)) and the intrabead mass transfer coefficient (k (i)) were predicted as 0.0267 x 10(-3) and 0.7465 x 10(-3) l/g/min, respectively. Both are much lower than the external mass transfer coefficient (k(e)). The surface adsorption phenomenon is acting as the rate-limiting step due to its high resistance for removal of Cr (VI).