Development of a biosorbent for arsenite: structural modeling based on X-ray spectroscopy

This work describes a biological route for direct sorption of aqueous As(III) species, which are the most toxic and mobile arsenic species found in soils. Based upon the biochemical mechanisms that explain arsenic toxicity, we propose that a waste biomass with a high fibrous protein content obtained from chicken feathers can be used for selective As(III) adsorption. Prior to adsorption, the disulfide bridges present in the biomass are reduced by thioglycolate. Our investigations demonstrated that As(III) is specifically adsorbed on the biomass and, contrary to the behavior observed with inorganic sorbents, the lower is the pH the more effective is the removal. Arsenic uptake reaches values of up to 270 micromol As(III)/g of biomass. Analyses by synchrotron light techniques, such as XANES, demonstrated that arsenic is adsorbed in its trivalent state, an advantage over conventional techniques for As uptake, which usually require a previous oxidation stage. EXAFS analyses showed that each As atom is directly bound to three S atoms with an estimated distance of 2.26 A. The uptake mechanism is explained in terms of the structural similarities between the As(III)-biomass complex structure and that of arsenite ions and Ars-Operon system encoded proteins and phytochelatins. The biological route presented here offers the perspective of a direct removal of arsenic in its reduced form.