An evaluation of copper biosorption by a brown seaweed under optimized conditions

• Wallace M. Antunes ^[1] ; Aderval S Luna ^[1] ; Cristiane A Henriques ^[1] ; Antonio Carlos A da Costa ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

     Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

     Brasil

     
• Localización: Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, ISSN-e 0717-3458, Vol. 6, Nº. 3, 2003, págs. 174-184
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • A basic investigation into the removal of copper ions from aqueous solutions by Sargassum sp. was conducted in batch conditions. The influence of different experimental parameters such as initial pH, shaking rate, sorption time, temperature, equilibrium conditions and initial concentrations of copper ions on copper uptake was evaluated. Results indicated that for shaking rates higher than 100 rpm no significant changes in copper accumulation were observed, as well as for pH values between 3.0 and 5.0. No marked effect on the biosorption of copper was detected for temperatures between 298 and 328K. The Langmuir model better represented the sorption process, in comparison to the model of Freundlich. The process followed a second-order kinetics and its calculated activation energy was 5.2 kcal/mol. Due to its outstanding copper uptake capacity (1.48 mmol/g biomass) Sargassum sp. proved to be an excellent biomaterial for accumulating and recovering copper from industrial solutions.