Investigation of Biodesalination of Aqueous Solutions by Halobacillus Halophilus Bacteria

Today, fresh water scarcity is one of the problems of human societies. Given the abundant reserves of saline water across the world, seawater desalination is one of the ways to supply fresh water. Recent studies showed that microorganism application in desalination is effective as physiochemical methods. Halophilic bacteria require NaCl for growth and metabolism; they can tolerate a wide range of near saturation marine concentrations with similar growth rates. To this purpose, the effect of halobacillus halophilus on desalination in aqueous solutions was assessed. Results indicated that maximum growth rate occurred in 6 days after cultivation and optimum temperature and pH for maximum growth of Halobacillus halophilus was 25œC and pH=7. Under optimum temperature and pH, halobacillus halophilus could desalinate seawater with 3-15% of NaCl. A high absorption rate was oserved in 5% NaCl and 5% crude oil. Therefore, the bacteria could desalinate water in aqueous conditions with high efficacy.

Keywords:

Desalination , Bacteria , Seawater , Halobacillus Halophilus