Adsorption performance of Bacillus licheniformis sp. bacteria isolated from the soil of the Tigris River on mercury in aqueous solutions

Mercury is known to be one of the most toxic heavy metals in the environment and is released into the water systems in significant quantities through natural events and industrial process activities. Many chemical materials are used as adsorbents in the removal of toxic metals from the environment and wastewaters. However, using microorganisms as bio-sorbents instead of chemical materials has become common recently due to their low cost, easy availability and presence in nature. In this study, Bacillus licheniformis in the soil isolated from the Tigris River was used as bio-sorbent. The mercury (Hg(II)) absorption behaviour of Bacillus licheniformis bacteria (BLB) was investigated using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The effects of equilibrium of adsorption time, temperature, adsorbent dosage and pH on the adsorption of Hg (II) onto BLB were determined. The maximum adsorption capacity of Hg (II) onto BLB was determined as 82.12 mg/g (T = 25°C, pH 5, Co = 50 mg/L, m = 25 mg). The BLB was characterised using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, thermal gravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy analysis and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis. In addition, pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models were applied. The equilibrium data for the adsorption of Hg(II) onto BLB were examined by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The activation energy was calculated using the pseudo-second-order rate constant. These results suggested the BLB can be used as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of Hg(II) metal ions from wastewater. When the results of bio-sorption studies were examined, it was found that the bio-sorbent could be reused easily. The present study suggests that microorganism bio-sorbents are useful for the efficient removal of mercury from aqueous solutions.