Residual biomass of Nigrospora sp. from process of the microbial oil extraction for the biosorption of procion red H–E7B dye

Abstract

The residual defatted biomass (RDB) of the fungus Nigrospora sp. obtained from the oil extraction process using supercritical technology was used as a low cost biosorbent for the removal of Procion red H–E7B dye (PR H–E7B) from aqueous solutions. The biosorption was favored using a biosorbent dosage of 0.78 g L–1 at pH 2. Biosorption kinetics was evaluated for different dye concentrations (50–200 mg L–1) and the General order model presented the best fit of experimental curves. Experimental biosorption equilibrium was determined for different temperatures (298–328 K). The Freundlich isotherm model showed the best fit of the equilibrium data. The maximum biosorption capacity was 188.79 mg g–1 at 298 K. These results show that the RDB of Nigrospora sp. has potential as biosorbent. In this way, the Nigrospora sp. biomass can be used to obtain oil and as biosorbent at the same time, contributing in the fields of process integration and cleaner production.