Biosorption of heavy metals from synthetic wastewater by using macro algae collected from Iraqi marshlands

Abstract

Biosorption is fast, effective and low cost process. It takes place in a wide range of temperature and it can be used for almost all types of heavy metals. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of locally collected green macro algae to remove copper, chromium and cadmium from synthetic wastewater. The fresh algae were converted into dry powder as biosorbent. In the investigations, 1 g of macro algae powder was exposed to synthetic waste water contaminated with 10 mg/L concentration of copper, chromium and cadmium in separate exposure for 2 hours. The best removal efficiency for copper, chromium and cadmium were 70%, 80% and 85%, respectively, from the initial concentration of 10 mg/L. While macro algae are abundantly available in marshlands of south Iraq, it can be preferably utilized as biosorbent to remove heavy metals from the industrial wastewater.