HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM REMOVAL FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION BY RHODOBACTER CAPSULATUS

The current scenario of releasing industrial effluents into water bodies is one of the main environmental concerns, since these effluents are composed of toxins and non-biodegradables compounds (arsenic, cadmium, mercury, chromium, among others). The chromium presents several applications in the metallurgic industry such as stainless steel, electroplating, leather curing, etc. In addition, its physical, chemical and biological properties aid in its dissolution into the aquatic environment where the most common forms found are trivalent chromium [Cr (III)] and hexavalent chromium [Cr (VI)], due to their stability in water. In contrast to Cr (III) which does not present any toxic implications, Cr (VI) is characterized as been highly toxic, being mutagenic and teratogenic. The aim of this work was to evaluate the ability of the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus to remove Cr (VI) from synthetic effluent.