Effects of carbohydrate sources on biosorption properties of the novel exopolysaccharides produced by Arthrobacter ps-5

•Carbohydrates from various sources were different on the yield and molecular weight.•EPS produced by addition of glucose presented the highest biosorption amounts.•Ratio of acidic versus neutral EPS was a key factor of the biosorption mechanism. The crude exopolysaccharides (EPSs) were obtained from Arthrobacter ps-5 fermentation using various carbohydrate sources followed by centrifugation, ethanol precipitation, and the isolated EPSs were further deproteinized and lyophilized. Carbohydrates from various sources resulted in different yield of EPSs from the fermentation and different molecular weight of EPSs. A maximum yield of 0.27mg/g was achieved by using the culture medium supplemented with sucrose. The EPS produced by glucose-supplemented medium had the maximum content of acidic polysaccharides, subsequently presented the highest biosorption capacity for Cu2+ and Pb2+ at 257.9mg/g and 331.8mg/g, respectively. The ratio of acidic to neutral polysaccharides presented in EPSs was a key factor to explicate the biosorption mechanism, the higher the ratio, the stronger the biosorption capacity.