Uranium adsorption and oil emulsification by extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) of a halophilic unicellular marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus BDU130911

Abstract An integrated approach on uranium adsorption and emulsification of oils was evaluated using extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) of a marine unicellular cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus BDU130911. EPS gel of S. elongatus BDU130911 was able to adsorb uranium at the rate of 75% per gram dry weight. Uranium follows a monolayer adsorption onto EPS gel surface as revealed by Langmuir isotherm. Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis and powder X-ray diffraction analysis further confirms the uranium adsorption to the EPS gel of S. elongatus BDU130911. The culture filtrate of S. elongatus BDU130911 exhibited biosurfactant property and formed a stable emulsion with petrol (EI24 51.2%) due to the presence of uronic acid and rhamnose sugar. These findings suggest that the EPS of S. elongatus BDU130911 biomass has the potential to be used as a green adsorbing agent for the effective extraction of radionucleotide and petroleum hydrocarbons.