Abstract
Removal of humic acid (HA) colour from natural waters by biosorption on Rhizopus arrhizus was studied. Experimental results demonstrated the dependence of adsorption on solution characteristics such as pH, ionic strength, concentration of metal ions and temperature. The observed effects were attributed to the pH dependence of humic acid solubility and surface charge of humic acid and fungal biomass. The biosorptive capacity of fungal cellular fractions was compared with the finding that chitin/chitosan was the major active component of R. arrhizus for humic acid uptake and this was confirmed by experiments on the effects of culture age, growth medium composition and biomass pre-treatment with caustic solutions on fungal sorptive capacity. Desorption experiments showed nearly all of the sorbed humic acid could be eluted, suggesting that the fungal biosorbents can be reused.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 607-620 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Chemosphere |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 1993 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- biosorption
- chitin
- chitosan
- desorption
- fungal biomass
- humic substances
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Engineering
- Environmental Chemistry
- General Chemistry
- Pollution
- Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis