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Application of Exopolymeric Substances and Biosurfactants in removal of heavy metals in Qatari soil and water

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submitted on 2023-12-20, 06:15 and posted on 2024-01-29, 07:44 authored by Najla Alkorbi, Zulfa Al Disi, Mohammad AlGhouti, Nabil Zouari

Heavy metals are economically important for industrial applications, but they are significant pollutants for the environment. The pollution with heavy metals causes serious threats to all living organisms in any ecosystem, due to their toxicity at low concentrations, their bioaccumulation and non-biodegradability in the environment. Advancements in biotechnology led to huge developments in the bioremediation approaches. In this study the effectiveness of biosurfactant’s and extracellular substance EPS of three selected strains, isolated from sabkha and soils in Qatar and characterized in our laboratory, in the removal of heavy metals from highly weathered oil?contaminated soils were investigated. One Mineral forming strains Virgibacillus martsimiure (DF112) and two hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial strains Pseudomonas aeruginosa (SH1) and Bacillus subtilis (SA28) were used to produce EPS and biosurfactants. The FTIR analysis confirmed alterations in the functional groups’ compositions after soil washing. Moreover, the ICP-OEC confirmed variable removal efficiencies of heavy metals. The best heavy metal removal efficiency (%) was obtained when washing with 10% of the biosurfactant produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (SH1). These results would help in the application of EPS and biosurfactants for the removal of heavy metals through washing of contaminated soils.

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Language

  • English

Publication Year

  • 2023

License statement

This Item is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Institution affiliated with

  • Qatar University
  • College of Arts and Sciences - QU

Geographic coverage

Qatar

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    Qatar University

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