Biosorption of Copper and Cadmium in Packed Bed Columns with Live Immobilized Fungal Biomass of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phanerochaete chrysosporium</Emphasis>

Biosorption of copper (II) and cadmium (II) by live Phanerochaete chrysosporium immobilized by growing onto polyurethane foam material in individual packed bed columns over two successive cycles of sorption–desorption were investigated in this study. Initial pH and concentrations of the metals in their respective solutions were set optimum to each of those: 4.6 and 35 mg·l⁻¹ in case of copper and 5.3 and 11 mg·l⁻¹ for cadmium. The breakthrough curves obtained for the two metals during sorption in both the cycles exhibited a constant pattern at various bed depths in the columns. The maximum yield of the columns in removing these metals were found to be, respectively, 57% and 43% for copper and cadmium indicating that copper biosorption by the immobilized fungus in its column was better than for cadmium. Recovery values of the sorbed copper and cadmium metals from the respective loaded columns by using 0.1 N HCl as eluant was observed to be quite high at more than 65% and 75%, respectively, at the end of desorption in both the cycles. Breakthrough models of bed-depth service time, Adams–Bohart, Wolborska, and Clark were fitted to the experimental data on sorption of copper and cadmium in the columns, and only the Clark model could fit the sorption performance of the columns well over the entire range of ratios of concentrations of effluent to influent, i.e., C/C ₀ for both copper and cadmium biosorption. The kinetic coefficients of mass transfer and other suitable parameters in the system were determined by applying the experimental data at C/C ₀ ratios lower than 0.5 to the other three models.     

Biosorption of Cadmium,Lead, and Uranium by Powder of Poplar Leaves and Branches

The removal of metal ions from aqueous solutions by biosorption plays an important role in water pollution control. In this study, dried leaves and branches of poplar trees were studied for removing some toxic elements (cadmium, lead, and uranium) from aqueous solutions. The equilibrium experiments were systematically carried out in a batch process, covering various process parameters that include agitation time, adsorbent size and dosage, initial cadmium, lead and uranium concentration, and pH of the aqueous solution. Adsorption behavior was found to follow Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms. The results have shown that both dried leaves and branches can be effectively used for removing uranium, while only branches were found to remove lead and cadmium completely from the aqueous solution. The maximum biosorption capacity of leaves for uranium was found to be 2.3 mg g⁻¹ and 1.7 mg g⁻¹ and 2.1 mg g⁻¹ for lead and cadmium on branches, respectively. In addition, the studied biomass materials were used in removing lead and cadmium from contaminated water and the method was found to be effective.     

Characterization of Biosorption Process of Acid Orange 7 on Waste Brewery’s Yeast

The use of cheap, high-efficiency, and ecofriendly adsorbent has been studied as an alternative way for the removal of dyes from wastewater. This paper investigated the use of waste brewery’s yeast for the removal of acid orange 7 from aqueous solution. The optimum removal of acid orange 7 was found to be 3.561 mg/g at pH 2.0, 10 mg/L initial concentration and 303 K. The kinetic studies indicated that the biosorption process of acid orange 7 agreed well with the pseudo-second-order model. The external diffusion is the rate-controlling step of the initial fast adsorption (<20 min) and then the intraparticle diffusion dominated the mass transfer process. Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin–Radushkevich models were applied to describe the biosorption isotherm of acid orange 7 by waste brewery’s yeast. Langmuir isotherm model fits the equilibrium data, at all the studied temperatures, better than the other isotherm models which indicates monolayer dye biosorption process. The highest monolayer biosorption capacity was found to be 2.27 × 10⁻³ mol/g at 303 K. The calculated thermodynamic parameters (ΔG, ΔS, ΔH) showed the biosorption process to be spontaneous and exothermic in nature. Amine or amino, amide, carboxyl, phosphate groups are responsible for the dyes biosorption based on the result of Fourier transform infrared analysis.     

Removal and recovery of copper (II) ions by bacterial biosorption

Studies were conducted toinvestigate the removal and recovery of copper (II) ions from aqueous solutions by Micrococcus sp., which was isolated from a local activated sludge process. The equilibrium of copper biosorption followed the Langmuir isotherm model very well with a maximum biosorption capacity (q_max) of 36.5 mg of Cu²⁺/gofdry cell at pH 5.0 and 52.1 mg of Cu²⁺/g of dry cell at pH 6.0. Cells harvested at exponential growth phase and stationary phase showed similar biosorption characteristics for copper, Copper uptake by cells was negligible at pH 2.0 and then increased rapidly with increasing pH un til 6.0. In multim etal systems, Micrococcus sp. exhibited a preferential biosorption order: Cu−Pb>Ni−Zn. There is virtually no interference with copper uptake by Micrococcus sp. from solutions bearing high concentrations of Cl⁻, SO ₄ ²⁻ , and NO3/− (0–500 mg/L). Sulfuric acid (0.05 M) was the most efficient desorption medium, recovering >90% of the initial copper sorbed. The copper capacity of Micrococcus sp. remained unchanged after five successive sorption and desorption cycles. Immobilization of Micrococcus sp. in 2% calcium alginate and 10% polyacrylamide gel beads increased copper uptake by 61%. Biomass of Micrococcus sp. may be applicable to the development of potentially cost-effective biosorbent for removing and recovering copper from effluents.     

Biosorption of heavy metals by bacteria isolated from activated sludge

Twelve aerobic bacteria from activated sludge were isolated and identified. These included both Gram-positive (e.g., Bacillus) and Gram-negative (e.g., Pseudomonas) bacteria. The biosorption capacity of these strains for three different heavy metals (copper, nickel, and lead) was determined at pH 5.0 and initial metal concentration of 100 mg/L. Among these 12 isolates, Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes was selected for further investigation owing to its high metal biosorption capacity. The lead and copper biosorption of this strain followed the Langmuir isotherm model quite well with maximum biosorption capacity (q _max) reaching 271.7mg of Pb²⁺/g of dry cell and 46.8 mg of Cu²⁺/g of dry cell at pH 5.0. Study of the effect of pH on lead and copper removal indicated that the metal biosorption increased with increasing pH from 2.0 to 7.0. A mutual inhibitory effect was observed in the lead-copper system because the presence of either ion affected the sorption capacity of the other. Unequal inhibitions were observed in all the nickel binary systems. The increasing order of affinity of the three metals toward P. pseudoalcaligenes was Ni<Cu<Pb. The metal biosorptive potential of these isolates, especially P. pseudoalcaligenes, may have possible applications in the removal and recovery of metals from industrial effluents.     

Characterization and sorption properties of Aspergillus niger waste biomass

The structure and the biosorption properties of fungal biomass of Aspergillus niger originated from citric acid fermentation industry was investigated. This waste biomass, produced in high quantity in carefully controlled industrial processes, has certain favourable characteristics that may be improved for its usefulness. In environmental chemistry, it is known for the removal of heavy metals cations. In this work, different alkaline treatments (1M NaOH/20°C/24 h and 10M NaOH/107°C/6 h) were used to evaluate the dependence of sorption properties of biomass on the cell wall composition. The biosorption was studied by the batch method, with the biomass concentration of 1 g/l, at pH 6. The adsorption of lead was more effective than that of cadmium. The biosorption capacity was evaluated using the biosorption isotherm derived from the equilibrium data. At pH 6, the maximmum lead biosorption capacity estimated with the Langmuir model was 93 mg/g dry biomass.     

Biosorption of Cr(VI) from Water Using Biomass of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aeromonas hydrophila</Emphasis>: Central Composite Design for Optimization of Process Variables

The potential use of biomass of Aeromonas hydrophila for biosorption of chromium from aqueous solution was investigated. The variables (pH, initial Cr(VI) concentration, biomass dose, and temperature) affecting process were optimized by performing minimum number of experimental runs with the help of central composite design. The results predicted by design were found to be in good agreement (R ² = 99.1%) with those obtained by performing experiments. Multiple regression analysis shows that uptake decreases with increase in pH and biomass dose, whereas it increases with increase in temperature and concentration. The maximum removal of Cr(VI) predicted by contour and optimization plots was 184.943 mg/g at pH 1.5, initial Cr(VI) concentration 311.97 mg/L, temperature 60 °C, and biomass dose 1.0 g. The removal of Cr(VI) was governed by adsorption of Cr(VI) as well as its reduction into Cr(III), which further gets adsorbed. The sorption capacity of biomass was calculated from experimental data using Langmuir sorption model and was found to be 151.50 mg/g at 40 °C and pH 1.5, which is comparable to other biosorbents. In addition to this, Dubinin–Radushkevich model was applied, and it was found that nature of sorption was chemisorption.     

UV/TiO2 photodegradation of metronidazole,ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole in aqueous solution: An optimization and kinetic study

Emerging pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) like sulfamethoxazole (SMX), metronidazole (MNZ) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) are biopersistent and toxic to the environment and public health. In this study, UV/TiO₂ photodegradation was applied in the degradation of SMX, MNZ and CIP individually and in a mixture. For a 5 mg/L SMX solution, about 97% of SMX was degraded within 360 min, which was reduced to 80% for 80 mg/L of SMX solution at the same TiO₂ dosage and photodegradation time. The maximum removals of MNZ and CIP as individual components were 100% and 89%, respectively at 600 min of photodegradation reaction time. For binary mixtures, the highest removal (100%) was achieved for MNZ and CIP ([MNZ] = [CIP] = 40 mg/L) mixture at 120 min whereas the degradations were 97% and 96% for SMX and MNZ, and SMX and CIP binary mixtures, respectively, even after 600 min of experimental time at the same concentrations. For tertiary mixture, the maximum degradation 99% was observed for (SMX = CIP] = 20 mg/L and [MNZ] = [40 mg/L) at 600 min. The observed reaction rate was 0.01085 min^?1 when SMX concentration was 5 mg/L, which decreased to 0.00501 min^?1 for SMX concentration of 80 mg/L, indicating decreasing of reaction rate at higher concentration. The results indicate that the UV/TiO₂ process is promising to apply for the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewaters.     

Denitrification in presence of benzene,toluene, and <Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis>-xylene

Denitrification of the electron donors toluene-C(15–100 mg/L), m-xylene-C (15–70 mg/L), benzene-C (5–25 mg/L), and acetate-C as experimental reference (50–140 mg/L) was carried out in batch culture. An initial concentration of 1.1±0.15 g of volatile suspended solids/L of denitrifying sludge without previous exposure to aromatic compounds was used as inoculum. The results showed toluene and nitrate consumption efficiency (E _T and E _N′ respectively) of 100%. Toluene was completely mineralized (oxidized) to CO₂. In all cases, the N₂ (γ_N2) and HCO ₃ ⁻ yields (γ_HCO3) were 0.97±0.01 and 0.8±0.05, respectively. The consumption efficiency (E _x ) of m-xylene (53±5.7%) was partial. The γ_N2 and γ_HCO3 were 0.96±0.01 and 0.86±0.02, respectively. Benzene was not consumed under denitrifying conditions. The specific consumption rates of toluene (q _T ) and m-xylene (q _X ) were lower than that of acetate (q _A ). The differences in specific consumption rates were probably owing to the negative effect of benzene, toluene, and isomers of xylene on the cell membrane.     

Study on the characterization of lead (II) biosorption by fungus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus parasiticus</Emphasis>

The lead (II) biosorption potential of Aspergillus parasiticus fungal biomass has been investigated in a batch system. The initial pH, biosorbent dosage, contact time, initial metal ion concentrations and temperature were studied to optimize the biosorption conditions. The maximum lead (II) biosorption capacity of the fungal biosorbent was found as 4.02 × 10⁻⁴ mol g⁻¹ at pH 5.0 and 20°C. The biosorption equilibrium was reached in 70 min. Equilibrium biosorption data were followed by the Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherm models. In regeneration experiments, no significant loss of sorption performance was observed during four biosorption-desorption cycles. The interactions between lead (II) ions and biosorbent were also examined by FTIR and EDAX analysis. The results revealed that biosorption process could be described by ion exchange as dominant mechanism as well as complexation for this biosorbent. The ion exchange mechanism was confirmed by E value obtained from D-R isotherm model as well.     

Cadmium and lead recovery from yeast biomass

Properties of metal solution, environmental conditions and the type of biomaterials (microorganism genus, species or even strain) influence the mechanism of metal biosorption and consequently metal adsorption capacity, affinity and specificity. Cell surface properties determine the metal-microorganism interactions to a large extent. In this work the relationship between yeast surface properties and yeast’s ability to bind cadmium, lead and copper was studied. Surface charge and hydrophobicity before and after biosorption were determined using dye retention and solvent partition assays, respectively. There were differences in the surface charge and relative hydrophobicity among different yeast strains. A higher metal adsorption capacity for more negatively charged yeast cells was observed. Biosorption of heavy metals resulted in modifications to the surface charge and hydrophobicity of yeast cells. However, there were not statistically significant changes in the yeast surface charge and hydrophobicity after binding of heavy metals depending on the nature of the metal, initial metal concentration and solution pH.     

Determination of copper,lead, cadmium and zinc content in commercially valuable fish species from the Persian Gulf using derivative potentiometric stripping analysis

This study was performed to determine the concentrations of cadmium, lead, copper and zinc in the edible muscle of pelagic (Scomberomorus commerson, Chirocentrus dorab, Sphyraena jello, Rachycentron conadum, Thunus tonggol, and Tenualosa ilisha) and demersal (Nemipterus japonicas, Epinephelus coioides, Platycephalus indicus, Psettodes erumei, Pomadasys argenteus, and Acanthopagrus latus) fish species from the Persian Gulf during winter and summer. The samples were analyzed by the derivative potentiometric stripping technique; and the results were expressed as μg/g of wet weight. The obtained range of metals in fish species was 0.024–0.111 μg/g for cadmium, 0.057–0.471 μg/g for lead, 0.799–4.790 μg/g for copper and 3.226–11.390 μg/g for zinc. The study revealed that seasonal variation influenced the concentration of metals in the samples. The highest concentration of cadmium, lead, copper and zinc was found in Platycephalus indicus (0.147 μg/g), Acanthopagrus latus (0.534 μg/g), Psettodes erumei (5.294 μg/g) and Psettodes erumei (13.528 μg/g) in winter, respectively. Moreover, demersal fish species had higher cadmium, lead and zinc concentrations, but lower copper content than pelagic ones. Our study demonstrated that the estimated daily and weekly intakes of lead, copper and zinc, and estimated monthly intake of cadmium via consumption of fish flesh were below the PTDI, PTWI and PTMI values established by FAO/WHO.     

Influence of inhibitory compounds and minor sugars on xylitol production by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Debaryomyces hansenii</Emphasis>

To obtain in-depth information on the overall metabolic behavior of the new good xylitol producer Debaryomyces hansenii UFV-170, batch bioconversions were carried out using semisynthetic media with compositions simulating those of typical acidic hemicellulose hydrolysates of sugarcane bagasse. For this purpose, we used media containing glucose (4.3–6.5 g/L), xylose (60.1–92.1 g/L), or arabinose (5.9–9.2 g/L), or binary or ternary mixtures of them in either the presence or absence of typical inhibitors of acidic hydrolysates, such as furfural (1.0–5.0 g/L), hydroxymethylfurfural (0.01–0.30 g/L), acetic acid (0.5–3.0 g/L), and vanillin (0.5–3.0 g/L). D. hansenii exhibited a good tolerance to high sugar concentrations as well as to the presence of inhibiting compounds in the fermentation media. It was able to produce xylitol only from xylose, arabitol from arabinose, and no glucitol from glucose. Arabinose metabolization was incomplete, while ethanol was mainly produced from glucose and, to a lesser less extent, from xylose and arabinose. The results suggest potential application of this strain in xyloseto-xylitol bioconversion from complex xylose media from lignocellulosic materials.     

Efficient uranium(VI) biosorption on grapefruit peel: kinetic study and thermodynamic parameters

The uranium(VI) biosorption by grapefruit peel was studied from aqueous solutions. Batch experiments was conducted to evaluate the effect of contact time, initial uranium(VI) concentration, initial pH, adsorbent dose, salt concentration and temperature. The equilibrium process was well described by the Langmuir, Redlich–Peterson and Koble–Corrigan isotherm models, with maximum sorption capacity of 140.79 mg g⁻¹ at 298 K. The pseudo second order model and Elovish model adequately describe the kinetic data in comparison to the pseudo first order model and the process involving rate-controlling step is much complex involving both boundary layer and intra-particle diffusion processes. The effective diffusion parameter D _i and D _f values were estimated at different initial concentration and the average values were determined to be 1.167 × 10⁻⁷ and 4.078 × 10⁻⁸ cm² s⁻¹. Thermodynamic parameters showed that the biosorption of uranium(VI) onto grapefruit peel biomass was feasible, spontaneous and endothermic under studied conditions. The physical and chemical properties of the adsorbent were determined by SEM, TG-DSC, XRD and elemental analysis and the nature of biomass–uranium (VI) interactions was evaluated by FTIR analysis, which showed the participation of COOH, OH and NH₂ groups in the biosorption process. Adsorbents could be regenerated using 0.05 mol L⁻¹ HCl solution at least three cycles, with up to 80% recovery. Thus, the biomass used in this work proved to be effective materials for the treatment of uranium (VI) bearing aqueous solutions.     

A kinetic method for <Emphasis Type="Italic">para</Emphasis>-nitrophenol determination based on its inhibitory effect on the catalatic reaction of catalase

The inhibitory effect of para-nitrophenol on the catalytic reaction of catalase was investigated. Michaelis-Menten kinetic parameters were determined from Lineweaver-Burk plots obtained in the absence or in the presence of the inhibitor. The inhibitor pattern, revealed by the Lineweaver-Burk plots, suggested a fully mixed inhibition mechanism. Spectrophotometric monitoring of the indicator reaction: in conjunction with initial rate measurements was employed for the kinetic determination of the inhibitor. Calibration plots of initial rate vs. para-nitrophenol concentration were linear in the concentration range 0.9·10⁻⁵–2.5·10⁻⁵ mol/L and the detection limit was 3·10⁻⁶ mol/L (417 μg/L) para-nitrophenol. Interferences from other phenolic compounds like orto-cresole, meta-and orto-nitrophenol were observed.     

Biosorption of lead(II) from aqueous solutions by non-living algal biomass Oedogonium sp. and Nostoc sp.--a comparative study

Industrial wastewaters containing heavy metals pose a major environmental problem that needs to be remedied. The present study reports the ability of two non-living (dried) fresh water algae, Oedogonium sp. and Nostoc sp. to remove lead(II) from aqueous solutions in batch system under varying range of pH (2.99-7.04), contact time (5-300 min), biosorbent dose (0.1-0.8 g/L), and initial metal ion concentrations (100 and 200mg/L). The optimum conditions for lead biosorption are almost same for the two algal biomass Oedogonium sp. and Nostoc sp. (pH 5.0, contact time 90 and 70 min, biosorbent dose 0.5 g/L and initial Pb(II) concentration 200mg/L) however, the biomass of Oedogonium sp. was found to be more suitable than Nostoc sp. for the development of an efficient biosorbent for the removal of lead(II) from aqueous solutions, as it showed higher values of q(e) adsorption capacity (145.0mg/g for Oedogonium sp. and 93.5mg/g for Nostoc sp.). The equilibrium data fitted well in the Langmuir isotherms than the Freundlich isotherm, thus proving monolayer adsorption of lead on both the algal biomass. Analysis of data shows that the process involves second-order kinetics and thermodynamic treatment of equilibrium data shows endothermic nature of the adsorption process. The spectrum of FTIR confirms that the amino and carboxyl groups on the surface of algal biomass were the main adsorption sites for lead removal. Both the biosorbents could be regenerated using 0.1 mol/L HCl solution, with upto 90% recovery. The biosorbents were reused in five biosorption-desorption cycles without a significant loss in biosorption capacity. Thus, this study demonstrated that both the algal biomass could be used as an efficient biosorbents for the treatment of lead(II) bearing wastewater streams.     

Biosorption of copper(II) and cadmium(II) by a novel exopolysaccharide secreted from deep-sea mesophilic bacterium

The biosorption behaviors and mechanisms of a novel exopolysaccharide (EPS), which is secreted by a mesophilic bacterium (namely Wangia profunda (SM-A87)) isolated from deep-sea sediment, for heavy metals Cu(II) and Cd(II) have been studied in this paper. The effects of SM-A87 EPS concentration, solution pH and ionic strength on the metal uptake were investigated by employing batch adsorption techniques, respectively. The optimum biosorption capacities were observed at pH 5.0 for Cu(II) with 48.0 mg/g and pH 6.0 for Cd(II) with 39.75 mg/g, respectively. Addition of salts decreased Cu(II) or Cd(II) uptake in the order of K⁺ < Na⁺ < Ca²⁺. Langmuir and Freundlich models were employed to describe the biosorption equilibrium data, indicating the favorable biosorption occurs and larger biosorption capacity and intensity for Cu(II) than for Cd(II). The biosorption kinetics for both metals can be well described by pseudo-second-order kinetic model, compared with pseudo-first-order and intraparticle diffusion kinetic models. The competitive biosorption was also studied, indicating that in two-component solution with different metal ratios, the selective biosorption of SM-A87 EPS for Cu(II) was much higher than for Cd(II). The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis indicated possible functional groups (e.g., OH, COO and COC) of SM-A87 EPS involved in metal biosorption process, which indicated the potential of using SM-A87 EPS as an effective sorbent for Cu(II) or Cd(II) removal from water.     

Purification and Characterization of Thermostable Chitinase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus licheniformis</Emphasis> SK-1

Chitinase was purified from the culture medium of Bacillus licheniformis SK-1 by colloidal chitin affinity adsorption followed by diethylamino ethanol-cellulose column chromatography. The purified enzyme showed a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular size and pI of chitinase 72 (Chi72) were 72 kDa and 4.62 (Chi72) kDa, respectively. The purified chitinase revealed two activity optima at pH 6 and 8 when colloidal chitin was used as substrate. The enzyme exhibited activity in broad temperature range, from 40 to 70°C, with optimum at 55°C. It was stable for 2 h at temperatures below 60°C and stable over a broad pH range of 4.0–9.0 for 24 h. The apparent K _m and V _max of Chi72 for colloidal chitin were 0.23 mg ml⁻¹ and 7.03 U/mg, respectively. The chitinase activity was high on colloidal chitin, regenerated chitin, partially N-acetylated chitin, and chitosan. N-bromosuccinamide completely inhibited the enzyme activity. This enzyme should be a good candidate for applications in the recycling of chitin waste.     

Thermochemistry of Bu<Subscript>4</Subscript>NBr solutions in binary solvents containing formamide

The heats of solution of tetrabutylammonium bromide have been measured in mixtures of formamide (FA) with methanol (MeOH) and ethylene glycol (EG) at 313.15 K by calorimetric method. The standard enthalpies of solution in binary mixtures have been extrapolated to infinite dilution by Redlich–Rosenfeld–Meyer type equation using the literary data at 298.15 K and the present paper data at 313.15 K. The Debye–Hückel limiting law slope A _H required for calculation of the ∆_sol H ⁰ value has been obtained with application the new additive scheme of determination of the physic-chemical characteristics of binaries. The scheme is tested on the example of Bu₄NBr solutions in FA–MeOH mixture at 298.15 K. Its application yields the ∆_sol H ⁰ value very closed on the ones determined with the real (non-additive) characteristics of binaries. The standard enthalpies of solution extrapolated by Redlich–Rosenfeld–Meyer type equation are in a good agreement with the ones computed in terms of the Debye–Hückel theory in the second approximation. The heat capacities characteristics of Bu₄NBr have been calculated in H₂O–FA, MeOH–FA and EG–FA mixtures using the literary and present data. The sequence of solvents H₂O > FA > EG > MeOH located on their ability to solvophobic solvation found by us earlier for enthalpic characteristics is confirmed by the ∆C _p ⁰ values. The comparison of thermochemical characteristics of Bu₄NBr solutions in aqueous and non-aqueous mixtures containing FA has been carried out. The own structure of water remains in the region of small additions of formamide to co-solvents. It considerably differs the H₂O–FA mixture from the investigated non-aqueous systems.     

Application of Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry in the Textile Industry

 In the present study, the determination of arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, nickel, mercury and zinc in various cloth samples produced in Kayseri-Turkey was performed after extraction with artificial sweat solution and decomposition with nitric acid. TXRF is shown to be suitable for the determination of 7 trace elements, down to the 0.001 (cobalt) to 0.004 (copper) mg/kg level in textile extract except for mercury and cadmium. The extractable part of the toxic metals by artificial sweat solution is relatively low. In a few extracts the concentration values of Pb and Ni have exceeded their critical values of 0.2 mg/kg for lead and 1.0 mg/kg for nickel given by ?ko-Tex and determined for babys cloths. In addition, it was observed that the element pattern of textile samples resembled ‘finger print type’, TXRF-spectra. This technique can also be used for the identification of textile sample in forensic investigation. Received April 16, 2001 Revision October 1, 2001.