 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Bacteria From The Deep Can Clean Up Heavy Metals
London, UK (SPX) Jun 12, 2009 A species of bacteria, isolated from sediments deep under the Pacific Ocean, could provide a powerful clean-up tool for heavy metal pollution. Writing in the current issue of the journal, Microbiology, Professor Gejiao Wang and his colleagues from Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan, PR China describe how a particular strain of Brachybacterium, strain Mn32, proved to be highly effective in removing manganese from solutions, converting it into insoluble manganese oxides. Not only did the bacterium directly oxidize the manganese but the resulting oxides themselves also absorbed the metal from the culture solution, making Brachybacterium sp Mn32 a potentially useful candidate for use in bioremediation and cleaning up pollution. As well as removing manganese from its environment, the Brachybacterium also absorbed significant amounts of zinc and nickel. All of these metals are found as pollutants in water and soils contaminated by heavy industries such as steel-making. Manganese oxides can be manufactured chemically and are known to absorb zinc and nickel; but the oxides produced by this bacterium absorbed two- to three- times more metal. Professor Wang's team showed that the crystal structure of the bacterial manganese oxides is different to that of the chemically produced ones, with a greater surface area which enables more of the metal ions to be absorbed. Describing the work, Professor Wang said, "The next stage of our research is to immobilize this bacterial strain into a bioreactor to test its ability to remove manganese and other heavy metals in such a system. If successful it could provide a more efficient way to clean up heavy metal pollutants." Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Society for General Microbiology Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up
US wartime bombs still killing in VietnamBac Giang, Vietnam (AFP) June 1, 2009 At first, Dinh Thi Bac thought the blast came from a blown tyre as someone drove past her scrap metal shop. She looked outside and saw the air thick with smoke, and when it cleared a little she saw all the blood. One woman lay badly hurt, bleeding and riddled with metal pellets in a corner. Another ran, wounded, towards the road and collapsed where motorcycles are now parked a few ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook