Bioremoval of Heavy Metals from a Nigerian Brewery Wastewater by Bacterial Application

Authors

  • Avemaria Obasi Department of Microbiology, University of Lagos, Lagos
  • Ogochukwu Agwu Department of Microbiology, University of Lagos, Lagos

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14456/fabj.2017.14

Keywords:

heavy metal, bacteria, brewery wastewater

Abstract

The high demand for brewery products, as well as the technological advancement in this regard, has further accelerated the growth of these industries; and the waste generated is one of the major sources of industrial waste hazards. In this study, the effect of bacterial treatment on the heavy metal concentrations in treated and untreated wastewaters from a brewery industry located in Lagos, Nigeria was analysed.
The two bacterial isolates Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were selected after painstaking isolation and purification of numerous bacterial isolates from the wastewaters using standard methods. The bacteria isolates were used individually and in combination to assay heavy metal removal in the wastewater samples during 14 days culture. The organisms grew luxuriantly, and completely removed Copper and Lead while the concentration of Zinc, Manganese and Iron reduced by between 57% and 97% for all the treatments. The study confirmed that bacteria can be applied in the removal of priority pollutants such as heavy metals from brewery wastewaters. It further demonstrates that wastewater indigenous organisms can actually perform this remediation activity if given the opportunity. This will serve as a low-cost form of wastewater treatment strategy which will tremendously reduce the concentration of the toxic heavy metals introduced into the environment and prevent bio-accumulation of these pollutants.

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How to Cite

Obasi, Avemaria, and Ogochukwu Agwu. 2017. “Bioremoval of Heavy Metals from a Nigerian Brewery Wastewater by Bacterial Application”. Food and Applied Bioscience Journal 5 (3):165-75. https://doi.org/10.14456/fabj.2017.14.

Issue

Section

Food Processing and Engineering