The 4 th International Seminar on Environmental Engineering Department of Environmental Engineering, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University Proceeding ISEE 2013 369 ISBN 978-602-95595-6-9 Biosorption of Lead (Pb) by Bacillus subtilis Isolated from Scirpus grossus Bieby Voijant Tangahu 1,3 , Siti Rozaimah Sheikh Abdullah 2 , Hassan Basri 2 , Mushrifah Idris 4 , Nurina Anuar 2 , and Muhammad Mukhlisin 2 1 Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Planning, Sepuluh Nopember Institute and Technology, Surabaya, Indonesia 2 Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia 3 Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia 4 Tasik Chini Research Centre, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Abstract Heavy metal is to be a common problem on aquatic pollution, and heavy metal of lead (Pb) is one of the most spread found in the environment. Several technologies have been used to solve this problem but most of them are expensive. Phytoremediation technology recently becomes a solution to apply due to its advantages of green technology and low cost. In this technology, beside plant species, the bacteria that grow in root zone of plants have an important role. This study conducted a lead biosorption test using Bacillus subtilis, one of rhizosphere bacteria isolated from Scirpus grossus to determine its ability to adsorb Pb from the medium and to be used to enhance the performance of phytoremediation process. The observation was done within 48 hours on bacteria growth on Trypticase Soy Broth (TSB) medium containing Pb with concentrations of 0, 200 and 600 mg/L. The monitoring growth parameters consist of Colony Forming Unit (CFU) and Optical Density (OD) including Pb concentrations inn TSB medium and bacteria cell. The results show that the reduction percentage of bacteria growth in medium containing 200 mg/L Pb were 36.5% log CFU and 33.3% OD, where as for medium containing 600 mg/L Pb, the reduction was even higher (52.4% log CFU and 50.0% OD), giving evidence that this species has tolerance to growth in Pb contained medium and has ability to adsorp Pb into its cell. Keywords: Bacillus subtilis, lead exposure, bacteria growth • Introduction Heavy metals pollution on aquatic is one of the most worldwide problems in the environment (Paul et al.2006). There are several methods already being used to clean up these kinds of contaminants from the environment, but most of them are costly and could not reach their optimum performance (Tangahu, et al. 2011b). Recently, phytoremediation technology has been identified as an effective and affordable technological solution for contaminated soil and water by extraction or removal of inactive metals and metal pollutants using initial species of plant (Tangahu, et al. 2013a, 2013b). The advantages of this technology compare with other common methods are aesthetically pleasing, the effectiveness in contaminant reduction, low cost, applicable for wide range of contaminants, environmentaly friendly method and less disruptive than current techniques (Tangahu, et al. 2011b). Beside its advantages, there are several limitation of this technology including: the root depth, soil chemistry, level of