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Hexavalent Chromium Removal by Candida sp. in a Concentric Draft-Tube Airlift Bioreactor

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Abstract

The main purpose of this work was to conduct a kinetic study on cell growth and hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] removal by Candida sp. FGSFEP in a concentric draft-tube airlift bioreactor. The yeast was batch-cultivated in a 5.2-l airlift bioreactor containing culture medium with an initial Cr(VI) concentration of 1.5 mM. The maximum specific growth rate of Candida sp. FGSFEP in the airlift bioreactor was 0.0244 h−1, which was 71.83% higher than that obtained in flasks. The yeast strain was capable of reducing 1.5 mM Cr(VI) completely and exhibited a high volumetric rate [1.64 mg Cr(VI) l−1 h−1], specific rate [0.95 mg Cr(VI) g−1 biomass h−1] and capacity [44.38 mg Cr(VI) g−1 biomass] of Cr(VI) reduction in the airlift bioreactor, with values higher than those obtained in flasks. Therefore, culture of Candida sp. FGSFEP in a concentric draft-tube airlift bioreactor could be a promising technological alternative for the aerobic treatment of Cr(VI)-contaminated industrial effluents.

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Acknowledgments

E. C.-U. is a fellow holder of a grant from the Comisión de Operación y Fomento de Actividades Académicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Secretaría de Investigación y Posgrado, IPN. The CONACyT awarded a graduate scholarship to one of the co-authors (F.M.G.-J.).

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  1. Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala s/n, Colonia Santo Tomás, Mexico, DF, C.P. 11340, Mexico

    Flor de María Guillén-Jiménez, Alma Rosa Netzahuatl-Muñoz, Liliana Morales-Barrera & Eliseo Cristiani-Urbina

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  1. Flor de María Guillén-Jiménez
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  2. Alma Rosa Netzahuatl-Muñoz
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Correspondence to Eliseo Cristiani-Urbina.

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Guillén-Jiménez, F.d.M., Netzahuatl-Muñoz, A.R., Morales-Barrera, L. et al. Hexavalent Chromium Removal by Candida sp. in a Concentric Draft-Tube Airlift Bioreactor. Water Air Soil Pollut 204, 43–51 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0024-x

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