Biosorption of Cd(II), Co(II), and Cu(II) onto Microalgae under Acidic and Neutral Conditions

Jesse T. Phiri and Sanghwa Oh ()
Additional contact information
Jesse T. Phiri: School of Architectural, Civil, Environmental and Energy Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
Sanghwa Oh: School of Architectural, Civil, Environmental and Energy Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 15, 1-20

Abstract: The biosorption of Cd, Co, and Cu onto three microalgae species ( Chlorella vulgaris , Scenedesmus sp., and Spirulina platensis ) was compared to determine the microalgae’s capability for heavy metal adsorption in acidic and neutral environments. The Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm models were used to characterize the adsorption of the heavy metals onto microalgae. The maximum adsorption capacity ( q max ) determined using the Langmuir and D-R model showed results in the order of Cu > Co > Cd in both acidic and neutral conditions. A shift from acidic to neutral conditions increased the microalgae’s adsorption affinity for heavy metals, as determined using the Freundlich parameter (K F ). The adsorption affinity of the biomass for Cd and Co was in the order S. platensis > C. vulgaris > Scenedesmus sp. while that of Cu was in the order C. vulgaris > Scenedesmus sp. > S. platensis . In addition, it was found that the adsorption of Cd and Co enhanced the production of Dissolved Organic Content (DOC) as a byproduct of biosorption, whereas the adsorption of Cu appeared to suppress the generation of DOC. The mean adsorption energy ( E ) values computed by the D-R model were less than 8 (kJ/mol), indicating that physisorption was the primary force of sorption in both acidic and neutral settings. The findings of this study suggest that microalgae may be used as a low-cost adsorbent for metal removal from industrial effluent.

Keywords: biosorption; heavy metals; microalgae; adsorption models; acidic environment; neutral environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6342/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6342/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6342-:d:1442025

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().