A new type of biosorbent was developed for binding anionic precious metals through cross-linking waste biomass Corynebacterium glutamicum with polyethylenimine (PEI). This biomass was evaluated for the removal and recovery of palladium and compared to commercial adsorbents, such as Amberjet 4200 Cl, Lewatit Monoplus TP 214, SPC-100, and SPS-200. The kinetic experiments revealed that the sorption equilibrium was reached with 30 min for the PEI-modified biomass. The maximum uptake of the biosorbent was 176.8 mg/g, which was calculated using the Langmuir model. The Pd(II) maximum uptake exhibited the following order: Amberjet 4200 Cl > Lewatit Monoplus TP 214 > PEI-modified biomass > SPC-100 > SPS-200. Acidified thiourea in 1.0 M HCl was used to desorb Pd(II) from all of the sorbents examined. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.