Biosorption of Pb(II) by the resistant Enterobacter sp. : Investigated by kinetics, equilibrium and thermodynamics

The Pb(II)-resistant bacterium was isolated from heavy metal-contained soils and used as a biosorbent to remove Pb(II). The strain was identified as Enterobacter sp. based on the 16S rRNA sequence analysis. The effect of biosorption properties (pH value, Pb(II) concentration, bacterial concentration and temperature) on Pb(II) was investigated by batch experiments. Results of FTIR and XPS showed that the biosorption process mainly involved some oxygen-containing groups (-OH and -COOH groups). The experimental results and equilibrium data were fitted by pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir model, respectively. The experimental biosorption isotherms fitted the Langmuir model, and the maximum biosorption capacity was 40.75 mg/g at 298 K. The calculated ΔGо and ΔHо were –4.06 and 14.91(kJ/mol), respectively, which indicated that biosorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. Results show that Enterobacter sp. will be an efficient biosorbent for Pb(II) removal.