REMOVAL OF ZINC AND MANGANESE FROM CONTAMINATED WATER WITH CYANOBACTERIA MATS

Cyanobacteria mats, developed for metal tolerance. were allowed to gro w in columns packed with glass wool. Resulting columns contained compl ex, self-organized ecosystems dominated by cyanobacteria (blue-green a lgae). This immobilized cell system was assessed for its potential in removing zinc and manganese (mixed solution) from contaminated water. Twelve applications (days 2 to 13 of the experiment) of 0.3-L/day volu mes containing 14 mg/L of each metal resulted in average removals of 9 6% zinc and 85% manganese with a 3-hour retention time. Final zinc and manganese concentrations in the mat (mg/g) were 10. 13 and 10.30, res pectively. Unique ecosystem conditions suggest that metal removal like ly involved heterogenous chemical zones that resulted in the simultane ous deposition of zinc and manganese as stable, nontoxic precipitates.