Biosorption of chromium(III) in fixed bed column

Abstract

The chromium (III) uptake on pre-treated seaweed Sargassum filipendula biomass was investigated in fixed bed. In the experiments 8 g of the biosorbent of 2.6 mm diameter medium were deposited in the column. The operation conditions were: feed solution pH of 3, temperature of 30oC, flow rate of 6 mL.min-1 and feed concentrations of chromium of 0.95, 1.45, 1.99, 2.82, 4.79 and 5.78 meq.L-1. The experimental equilibrium data in the column and batch systems have been analyzed using the irreversible isotherm (qmax = 1.93 meq.g-1) and the Langmuir isotherm, respectively, for simulate the sorption of chromium ion. The rupture curves obtained experimentally were modeled mathematically using a model that considers the mass transfer in the solid phase as the controlling step. The mass transfer in the solid (K) was influenced by the initial chromium concentration in the studied range. Key words: biosorption, chromium, bed fixed.