Biosorption of Cu(II) from aqueous solutions by immobilized mycelium of Trametes versicolor

Abstract

The biosorption potential of heat inactivated mycelium of Trametes versicolor, free and immobilized in Ca-alginate and co-immobilized in Ca-alginate with bentonite and activated carbon, for Cu(II) removal from aqueous solutions was investigated. Among the studied biosorbents heat inactivated fungal mycelium co-immobilized in Ca-alginate with activated carbon was selected as the most successful. The effect of pH, initial metal ion concentration, duration and temperature on the removal efficiency of the biosorbent was studied. Maximum Cu(II) removal 66.80% was reached at pH 4.0, 20 °C, and biosorbent dosage of 2.0°g·dm-3. The Langmuir adsorption model matched very well the adsorption equilibrium data in the studied conditions. The kinetic data were found to follow the pseudo-second order model. The negative values of ΔH° and ΔG° revealed the exothermic nature and the feasibility of adsorption.