This study aims to evaluate metal biosorption in an acid mine drainage (AMD) synthetic sample by determining the equilibrium time, the amount of metal captured and removed, and also the biomass changes. For this, tests were performed with parameter constants: 25ºC temperature, 2.6 pH, 1g.L-1 biomass concentration, and at 175rpm shake. The gram-positive bacterium Rhodococcus opacus was used as biosorbent, after having been grown in YMA (yeast mannitol agar) for 24h at 28ºC and shaken at 150rpm. After the biosorptive process, samples were centrifuged: the supernatant was analyzed by atomic absorption and the biomass was characterized by analysis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that maximum uptake time occurs in about 1 minute, when the maximum uptake was 48.2mg.g-1, which corresponds to approximately to 11.7% of the total removal. The changes observed in the SEM indicate that there are interactions between metal ions and biomass.
Biosorption; Rhodococcus opacus; Acid mine drainage
