Recombinant Escherichia coli expressing human metallothionein protein was immobilized with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) for the removal of cadmium from solution. The adsorption ability was strongly affected by pH with optimal performance at pH 5.0, while it was less sensitive to temperature over the range of 20-42 degrees C. The adsorption kinetics and equilibrium of PVA-immobilized cells was best described by pseudo-second order model and Langmuir isotherm, respectively. Over the Cd concentrations range of 10-150 mg/l, PVA-cells had the highest Cd removal percentage (82.7%) at 10 mg Cd/l and a biomass loading of 15.4wt.%. Better adsorption ability was obtained when biomass loading was increased, as the highest adsorption capacity of 4.29 mg/g was achieved at 33.0 wt.% of biomass (initial Cd concentration = 100 mg/l). An aqueous solution of 0.01 M Na(3)NTA displayed the best desorption efficiency (57-89%) for four A/D cycles, while 51-61% of the original adsorption capacity was retained after regeneration. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.