Fungi aerobic granules and use of Fe(III)-treated granules for biosorption of antimony(V)

Abstract

This study cultivated fungi aerobic granules in sequencing batch reactor with glucose as carbon source at pH 4.5, which were mainly composed of single fungus Geotrichum fragrans. Iron precipitate was then produced with 0.1M FeCl3 onto the granules surface, accompanied with removal of Ca, Mg, K and Na from the biomass matrix. The Fe(III)-treated granules had 4.3-folds higher adsorption capacity of antimony(V) than the original granules, peaked at pH 3.4 at a Langmuir maximum capacity of 111mgg−1 of dry mass. Fe(III) treatment was for the first time applied to convert fungi aerobic granules to cost-effective biosorbent for Sb(V).