LEAD BIOSORPTION BY A BACTERIUM ISOLATED FROM INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENTS

An attempt was made to isolate microorganisms from the industrial effluents and to study their role in bioremediation of lead in selected industrial effluents. Sixty bacterial strains from the industrial effluent were isolated, purified, preliminarily identified and examined for their ability to uptake lead. Based on the minimum inhibition concentrations (MICs) of lead for the selected isolates, six strains were found to be most resistant isolates and amongst them one isolate showed maximum resistance to lead which was identified as Bacillus cereus. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) photographs and Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) signature of Bacillus cereus revealed that lead was adsorbed to the cell surface, confirming biosorption capacity of the bacteria.