Aluminum remediation from medium by Dunaliella

The ability of two Dunaliella salina strains (AS-B1 and IR-1) and Dunaliella bardawil (UTEX-2538) in the sedimentation of different concentrations (0, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 μM) of aluminum were studied for duration 120 min. In these strains, increase in aluminum concentration was concomitant with the reduction of cell number in supernatant as the index of the sediment aluminum by algal cells-Al3+ ions binding; cell agglutination and sedimentation caused by presence of aluminum. The ability of D. bardawil was higher in sedimentation of aluminum. The results of adding EDTA to cell suspensions for binding the aluminum confirmed the role of binding algal cells to aluminum in cell agglutination and sedimentation and consequently aluminum bioremediation. In addition, the results imply that the cell agglutination and sedimentation in D. bardawil is higher than Dunaliella salina. It seems this strain has a greater capability for sedimentation of aluminum and can utilize aluminum from aquatic environments for bioremediation.