Removal of Pollutants from Waste Water Using Dunaliella Algae
Huda A. Qari1,2* and Ibrahim A. Hassan2,31Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, KSA.
2Centre of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, KSA.
3Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, 21526 El Shatby, Alexandria. Egypt.
Abstract: The toxicity and biosorption of heavy metals by the green unicellular flagellate sp. were investigated. We found that Dunaliella algae are able to biologically remove heavy metals from wastewater at concentration (about 85 mg/L). The Dunaliella cells were first immersed for seven days in wastewater samples collected from different sources in Jeddah, KSA, and their growth rates were monitored determined visibly at wavelength of 560 nm. It was observed that at the initial stage (0–12 hours) the adsorption rate was so rapid that 74% of the metal was biologically adsorbed. The maximum biosorption capacity of live Dunaliella was estimated to be 0.79 mg lead per 75 alga cells. Other elements were adsorbed at relatively lower rates Both toxicity and biosorption are very important in developing Dunaliella for the treatment of wastewater containing heavy metals. Dunaliella algae could be used as phytoemediators to decrease toxicity of heavy metal from polluted wastewater for human health.
Keywords: Waste water; Heavy metal pollution; removal; adsorption; Dunaliella algae Back to TOC