Zirconium-Doped Fungal Sorbents: Preparation, Characterization, Adsorption Isotherm, and Kinetic and Mathematical Modelling Study for Removal of Fluoride

Abstract

The present study involves usage of more efficient and eco-friendly zirconium-doped, fluoride-resistant fungal biosorbents for removal of excess fluoride from groundwater. It was observed that >94% fluoride removal was possible at optimal conditions for the four fungal species studied. The adsorption isotherm studies indicated that zirconium-doped Aspergillus ficuum SIT-CH-2, Aspergillus terreus SIT-CH-3, and Aspergillus flavipes SIT-CH-4 were best described by Freundlich isotherm and zirconium-doped Penicillium camemberti SIT-CH-1 fitted well with Langmuir adsorption isotherm equation. The pseudo-second-order kinetics model showed the best fit for all of the four zirconium-doped fungal species for the fluoride biosorption.