Biosorptive Removal of Copper(II) by Bacillus cereus Isolated from Contaminated Soil of Electroplating Industry in India

Heavy metal contamination is one of the major environmental issues around the globe and hence, this work aims to apply microbes to remove these toxic inorganic pollutants. Bacillus cereus KTSMBNL 81 isolated from electroplating industry waste-contaminated soil has been identified by biochemical and 16S rRNA sequencing analysis. B. cereus has been applied for the uptake of Cu(II) ions from the aqueous solution and the effects of various physicochemical parameters influencing Cu(II) biosorption namely, initial Cu(II) ion concentration (100-400 mg L-1), pH of the solution (2-10), temperature (25-45 degrees C), and contact time (0-26 h), were investigated. Maximum Cu(II) removal (89%) was observed at the following conditions: initial pH 6.0, temperature 35 degrees C, contact time 26 h, and initial Cu(II) concentration of 100 mg L-1. FTIR spectrum of the biomass indicated the presence of carboxyl, hydroxyl, and amino groups that might be responsible for biosorption of Cu(II) and the SEM-EDX results showed a distinct change in the surface morphology after the biosorption of Cu(II) ions. XRD pattern confirmed the crystalline nature of the organism. The results demonstrated that the B. cereus KTSMBNL 81 is very effective, tolerant, economical, and environment-friendly sorbent for removing Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions.