Biosorption of uranium by chemically modified Rhodotorula glutinis

• Published in: Journal of environmental radioactivity Vol. 101; no. 11; pp. 969 - 973
• Main Authors: Bai, Jing, Yao, Huijun, Fan, Fangli, Lin, Maosheng, Zhang, Lina, Ding, Huajie, Lei, Fuan, Wu, Xiaolei, Li, Xiaofei, Guo, Junsheng, Qin, Zhi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adsorption; Aluminum base alloys; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomass; Biosorption; Carboxyl group; Chemical modification; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on plants and fungi; Environmental Pollutants - metabolism; Environmental Restoration and Remediation; Formaldehyde - pharmacology; FTIR analysis; Functional groups; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Methanol - pharmacology; Methyl alcohol; Radioactivity; Rhodotorula - drug effects; Rhodotorula - metabolism; Rhodotorula glutinis; Sorption; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Uranium; Uranium - chemistry; Uranium - metabolism; Chemical modification; Biosorption; Uranium; FTIR analysis; Functional groups; Rhodotorula glutinis; Fungi; Absorption; Yeast; Fungi Imperfecti; Cell wall; Functional group
• ISSN: 0265-931X; 1879-1700
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2010.07.003

The present paper reports the biosorption of uranium onto chemically modified yeast cells, Rhodotorula glutinis, in order to study the role played by various functional groups in the cell wall. Esterification of the carboxyl groups and methylation of the amino groups present in the cells were carried out by methanol and formaldehyde treatment, respectively. The uranium sorption capacity increased 31% for the methanol-treated biomass and 11% for the formaldehyde-treated biomass at an initial uranium concentration of 140 mg/L. The enhancement of uranium sorption capacity was investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis, with amino and carboxyl groups were determined to be the important functional groups involved in uranium binding. The biosorption isotherms of uranium onto the raw and chemically modified biomass were also investigated with varying uranium concentrations. Langmuir and Freundlich models were well able to explain the sorption equilibrium data with satisfactory correlation coefficients higher than 0.9. ► Uranium biosorption on to chemically modified yeast cells ► Cells before and after uranium sorption were investigate by FTIR spectroscopy ► Amino and carboxyl groups were important functional groups involved in uranium binding ► The sorption equilibrium date of raw and chemically modified biomass fitted well with Langmuir and Freundlich models