Two metal biosorption of chromium and copper by Ca-loaded Laminaria japonica biomass

Abstract

Cu and Cr sorption capacities of Ca-loaded Laminaria japonica biomass were studied using an equilibrium methodology and evaluation of the sorption performance, and modeling in a two-metal system was carried out with a modified multi-component Langmuir isotherm. The maximum Cu and Cr uptakes calculated from the Langmuir isotherm were 1.59 mmol/g (10.1 wt.%) and 1.81 mmol/g (9.4 wt.%) at pH 4.5, respectively. The desorption efficiency of the Cr-sorbed L. japonica was approximately 5% for 8 h in the 0.1 N HNO3 solution, while that of Cu-sorbed L. japonica was more than 99% in the 0.1 N HNO3 solution. The modified Langmuir model gave the following affinity correlated coefficients: 1.12 for Cu and 7.31 for Cr at pH 4.5. The interference of Cr with Cu biosorptive uptake was assessed by ‘cutting’ the three dimensional uptake isotherm surfaces at constant second-metal final concentrations. Equimolar final equilibrium concentrations of Cu and Cr of 1 mM at pH 4.5 reduced Cu and Cr uptakes by 75.5 and 11.0%, respectively.