Continuous treatment process of mercury removal from aqueous solution by growing recombinant E. coli cells and...

A continuous treatment process was developed to investigate the capability of genetically engineered E. coli to simultaneously accumulate mercuric ions and reproduce itself in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system. The influence of dilution rate and initial Hg(2+) concentration on continuous process was evaluated. Results indicated that the recombinant E. coli could effectively accumulate Hg(2+) from aqueous solution with Hg(2+) removal ratio up to about 90%, and propagate its cells at the same time in the continuous treatment system under suitable operational conditions. A kinetic model based on mass balance of Hg(2+) was proposed to simulate the continuous process. The modeling results were in good agreement with the experimental data.