This study investigates the biosorption capabilities of kefir grains, a polysaccharide-based byproduct of the fermentation process, for removing copper(II) and arsenic(V) from contaminated water. Unlike traditional heavy-metal removal methods, which are typically expensive and involve environmentally harmful chemicals, biopolymeric materials such as kefir grains provide a sustainable and cost-effective alternative for adsorbing hazardous inorganic pollutants from aqueous solutions. Our experimental results revealed significant differences in the sorption capacities of two types of kefir grains. Grains of milk kefir outperformed water kefir, particularly in copper(II) removal, achieving up to 95% efficiency at low copper concentrations (0.16 mmol·L-1) and demonstrating a maximum sorption capacity of 49 µmol·g-1. In contrast, water kefir grains achieved only 35.5% maximum removal efficiency and exhibited lower sorption capacity. For arsenic(V) removal, milk kefir grains also showed superior performance, removing up to 56% of arsenic in diluted solution with experimental sorption capacities reaching up to 20 µmol·g-1, whereas water kefir grains achieved a maximum removal efficiency of 34.5%. However, these findings also suggest that while kefir grains show potential as low-cost biosorbents, further modifications are needed to enhance their competitiveness for large-scale water treatment applications.

Department of Environmental Engineering Faculty of Mining and Geology VSB Technical University of Ostrava 17 listopadu 2172 15 708 00 Ostrava Czech Republic

Department of Materials Engineering and Chemistry Faculty of Civil Engineering Czech Technical University Prague Thákurova 7 166 29 Prague Czech Republic

Department of Materials Engineering and Physics Faculty of Civil Engineering Slovak University of Technology Radlinského 11 810 05 Bratislava Slovakia

Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology Faculty of Chemistry Brno University of Technology Purkyňova 464 118 Královo Pole 612 00 Brno Czech Republic

Institute of Laboratory Research on Geomaterials Faculty of Natural Sciences Comenius University in Bratislava Mlynská dolina Ilkovičova 6 842 15 Bratislava Slovakia

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