Phosphate Modified Baker's Yeast: An Effective Approach for Simultaneous Lead Removal and Water Hardness Reduction in Wastewater

Throughout this scrutiny, the efficacy of employing phosphate-modified baker's yeast (PMBY) as a bio-sorbent for the bioremediation method for lead (Pb) removal and the reduction of water hardness in wastewater was investigated. Overall, the adsorption method of lead from wastewater was based on the ion exchange method as well as chelation as phosphorous and oxygen atoms possess a strong affinity for metal ions such as lead. Because of lead's detrimental impact on human health and the environment, lead pollution is a consequential environmental issue. In the yeast modification process, potassium dihydrogen phosphate and potassium hydrogen are used as phosphate sources, while other materials include urea, baker's yeast, and lead nitrate as lead sources for wastewater samples. Devices for the experiment were a shaker (SK-O330-Pro), centrifuge (EPPENDORF Centrifuge 5430), vacuum dryer (BINDER VDL), vacuum filtration (NALGENE Rapid-Flow), and grinder; furthermore, the analysis of three treated wastewater samples, with 0.05 grams, 0.1 grams, and 0.2 grams of the modified yeast adsorbent, was conducted with a microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometer (Agilent Technologies 4200 MP-AES) for the determination of elements. The initial concentration of wastewater was 50 ppm. The results showed that the lead concentration decreased to 2.06 ppm, 0.31 ppm, and 0.26 ppm, respectively. Although it was not our purpose to focus on reducing the hardness of water, we discovered that, with phosphate-modified yeast, we decreased the amount of calcium and magnesium inside the water. Thus, the amounts of calcium and magnesium in the water reduced, which reduced water hardness, with the numbers decreasing from 1.932 ppm to 1.069 ppm and from 1.3586 ppm to 0.7285 ppm, respectively. The amount of lead in the water significantly decreased as the adsorbent concentration increased from 0.05 to 0.2 with the removal efficiency increasing from 96% to 99.5%. Through the experimentation of a sustainable bioremediation strategy for dealing with lead contamination and water hardness issues in wastewater, this research contributes to the field of environmental remediation. The outcomes demonstrate how successfully modified yeast can be used as a practical water treatment method.