Efficient Removal of Methylene Blue Using Living Biomass of the Microalga Chlamydomonas moewusii: Kinetics and Equilibrium Studies

Raquel Seoane, Sergio Santaeufemia, Julio Abalde and Enrique Torres
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Raquel Seoane: Laboratorio de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Campus de A Zapateira, Universidade da Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
Sergio Santaeufemia: Laboratorio de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Campus de A Zapateira, Universidade da Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
Julio Abalde: Laboratorio de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Campus de A Zapateira, Universidade da Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
Enrique Torres: Laboratorio de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Campus de A Zapateira, Universidade da Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: The efficiency of the living biomass of the microalga Chlamydomonas moewusii in removing methylene blue dye is determined. The kinetics, equilibrium isotherms, and the effects on this process of the pH, contact time, and initial concentration of the dye are studied. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and point of zero charge are used to characterize the biomass and explore the process. The maximum removal capacity derived from the Langmuir isotherm is 212.41 ± 4.55 mg/g after 7 h of contact time at pH 7. The removal process is rapid because kinetic studies revealed that the best fit of the data is with pseudo-third-order kinetics. The removal efficiency is dependent on the pH; as the pH increased, the efficiency is higher. These results show that the living biomass of this microalga is a very efficient biosorbent and therefore very suitable for the removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions.

Keywords: microalga; dye; biosorption; bioremediation; decolorization; environmental pollutants (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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