Chapter 9
An Insight into Microbial Remediation
of Hexavalent Chromium
from Contaminated Water
Aliya Naz , Abhiroop Chowdhury , and Brijesh Kumar Mishra
9.1 Introduction
Chromium is a transition metal, with varied applicability in tannery, electroplating,
pulp and paper, dye and paint, textile and steel and chemical industries (Verger et al.
2018; Guertin et al. 2016). For this wide usage, the production of Cr from mines have
increased drastically within last two decades (IBM 2013; USGS Mineral Yearbook
2015). Chromium exists in various oxidation states, out of which trivalent (Cr
3+ ) and
hexavalent chromium (Cr
6+ ) are generally found in aqueous medium. Hexavalent
chromium is mutagenic and carcinogenic as it can cause cancer on long-term exposure to human (Naz et al. 2016a, b; 2018). Chromium pollution through improper
waste disposal and effluent influx from Cr-utilizing industries like ferrochrome, electroplating, tanning units as well as mining regions are the major contributors to this
metal in the natural environment. Recent researches are focused on the exclusion
processes of Cr
6+ from the contaminated effluents foremost of which are chemical, electrochemical, adsorption, ion exchange filtration, and microbial reduction of
Cr
6+ . Conventionally, chemical and electrochemical reduction is the most common
method used to treat contaminated water (Barrera-Díaz et al. 2012). This method has
few major disadvantages like the requirement of high energy and generation of large
volume of sludge, which increases the disposal problems rather than solving (Owlad
et al. 2009; Jin et al. 2016).
The selection or innovation of economically efficient Cr
6+ removal technique from
contaminated wastewater is essential for the developing countries that try to balance
A. Naz (B) · B. K. Mishra
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian
School of Mines), Dhanbad, Jharkhand 826 004, India
e-mail: naazaliya6@gmail.com
A. Chowdhury
Department of Chemistry, Manipal University Jaipur, Jaipur, Rajasthan 303007, India
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Kumar et al. (eds.), Contaminants in Drinking and Wastewater Sources,
Springer Transactions in Civil and Environmental Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4599-3_9
209
An Insight into Microbial Remediation
of Hexavalent Chromium
from Contaminated Water
Aliya Naz , Abhiroop Chowdhury , and Brijesh Kumar Mishra
9.1 Introduction
Chromium is a transition metal, with varied applicability in tannery, electroplating,
pulp and paper, dye and paint, textile and steel and chemical industries (Verger et al.
2018; Guertin et al. 2016). For this wide usage, the production of Cr from mines have
increased drastically within last two decades (IBM 2013; USGS Mineral Yearbook
2015). Chromium exists in various oxidation states, out of which trivalent (Cr
3+ ) and
hexavalent chromium (Cr
6+ ) are generally found in aqueous medium. Hexavalent
chromium is mutagenic and carcinogenic as it can cause cancer on long-term exposure to human (Naz et al. 2016a, b; 2018). Chromium pollution through improper
waste disposal and effluent influx from Cr-utilizing industries like ferrochrome, electroplating, tanning units as well as mining regions are the major contributors to this
metal in the natural environment. Recent researches are focused on the exclusion
processes of Cr
6+ from the contaminated effluents foremost of which are chemical, electrochemical, adsorption, ion exchange filtration, and microbial reduction of
Cr
6+ . Conventionally, chemical and electrochemical reduction is the most common
method used to treat contaminated water (Barrera-Díaz et al. 2012). This method has
few major disadvantages like the requirement of high energy and generation of large
volume of sludge, which increases the disposal problems rather than solving (Owlad
et al. 2009; Jin et al. 2016).
The selection or innovation of economically efficient Cr
6+ removal technique from
contaminated wastewater is essential for the developing countries that try to balance
A. Naz (B) · B. K. Mishra
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian
School of Mines), Dhanbad, Jharkhand 826 004, India
e-mail: naazaliya6@gmail.com
A. Chowdhury
Department of Chemistry, Manipal University Jaipur, Jaipur, Rajasthan 303007, India
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Kumar et al. (eds.), Contaminants in Drinking and Wastewater Sources,
Springer Transactions in Civil and Environmental Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4599-3_9
209