Reduction in toxicity of arsenic(III) to Halobacillus sp. Y35 by kaolin and their related adsorption studies

The growth of Halobacillus sp. Y35 has been investigated in HGM hypersaline medium with different doses of As(III) and kaolin. The metabolic heat flux decreases with the increase in As(III) concentration, indicating that strain Y35 lowers their metabolic activity in order to resist the As(III) toxicity. Carbon dioxide flux, cell growth and protein synthesis rates, and total thermal effect have been, for the first time, successfully employed simultaneously to assess the effect of As(III) on strain Y35 in the absence and presence of kaolin. The relative adsorption capacity and adsorption intensity of kaolin for As(III) are higher with strain Y35 than that without strain Y35, demonstrating that it is possible to reduce the toxicity of As(III) to our environment by both using mineral adsorption and biosorption technology. Our work shows the potential application of kaolin and strain Y35 for the removal of As(III) from contaminated groundwater.