Biosorption of Cadmium (II), Lead (II) and Nickel (II) by Spirulina Maxima

Biosorption is the effective method for removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater. In this study Spirulina maxima was used as an inexpensive and efficient biosorbent for Cd (II), Pb (II), and Ni (II) at concentrations 5 mgL-1, 10 mgL-1, 20 mgL-1 from aqueous solutions. This work focuses mainly on the kinetics of biosorption which follows a first-order model and equilibrium is properly described by Langmuir isotherms. The maximal sorption coefficient (qe) was 16.1, 36.2 and 12 for cadmium, lead and nickel respectively. Biosorption of lead was the most prominent, since even at 20 mgL-1 of initial concentration the equilibrium concentration was Ce = 4.8 mgL-1 at 240 min and a specific decay rate Ï… = 0.0062 min-1, which together with its maximal adsorption capacity qmax = 46.9 (mgg-1) and sorption rate constant k= 0.0081 min-1 attests for the quality of lead biosorption by living biomass of Spirulina maxima.

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