Bioremediation of Chromium (III) from Tannery Effluent using Microalgae

Heavy metal (HM) pollution has slowly but surely crept into the list of direst issues being faced by mankind. It usually results in a myriad of complications for the environment as well as human health. Conventional techniques for the treatment of HM pollution are sometimes not effective under certain conditions. Treatment of HM pollution is currently being explored by utilizing biological activity of plants, algae, fungi, etc. Positive outcomes have been demonstrated, especially by algae. Thus, phycoremediation has arisen as an alternative, green method of solving this issue. Green algae were isolated from Kolavai lake and then cultivated in Erlenmeyer flasks under room conditions. After growth, the cells were harvested by centrifugation and filtration and then dried for 24 hr at high temperatures. Powdered biomass was then added to aqueous solutions containing Chromium at different concentrations with a fixed dosage. Results showed that 30ppm was favored for Cr3+ uptake by biosorbent. Next, the effect of pH was studied on adsorption rate. Results indicated that as the pHincreased, the Cr3+ uptake was found to have decreased, thus confirming low pH favors Cr3+ sorption. AAS results had indicated that biosorbent was effective in Cr3+ even at low concentrations and thus provided a possible alternative to conventional techniques.