Improved biosorption of phenol using crosslinked chitosan beads after modification with histidine and Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

The ability of chitosan beads modified with histidine and Saccharomyces cerevisiae using glutaraldehyde as a crosslinking agent (SC-HIS-CCBs) for the biosorption of phenol was studied. The surface of SC-HIS-CCBs was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Batch biosorption experiments using the SC-HIS-CCBs were then performed by varying contact time, solution pH (2.0 ∼ 7.0), and initial phenol concentration (25 ∼ 250 mg/L). The isotherm and kinetic data were fitted by suitable equations including the Langmuir, Freundlich, pseudo-first-order, and pseudo-second-order equations. Thermodynamic parameters of phenol biosorption on the SC-HIS-CCBs were calculated. Desorption of phenol from the loaded SC-HIS-CCBs was performed with NaOH solution. The biosorption capacity of phenol of 28.4 mg/g on the SC-HIS-CCBs at pH 2.0 and 313 K, determined by the Langmuir equation, indicated the promising potential of such modified chitosan biosorbents.