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A Comparative Study for the Identification of Superior Biomass Facilitating Biosorption of Copper and Lead Ions: A Single Alga or a Mixture of Algae

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Abstract

For eradication of Cu(II) and Pb(II), the biosorption performance of two biosorbents, which are single class Chlorophyceae alga and a mixture formed from Chlorophyceae; Cyanophyceae, and Bacillariophyceae algae, is being evaluated in the present work. For this purpose, the biosorption experiments were carried out on biomass samples of these algal classes and found to be sensitive towards variation in environmental conditions. Further, the characterization study performed using FT-IR and scanning electron micrograph techniques, revealed the presence of highly essential active groups, in addition to, several morphological properties on the surface of both biosorbents. The removal efficiency was found to change substantially, depending on the type of biosorbed metal, rather than algal biomass type. Additionally, the equilibrium isotherm study demonstrated that the biosorption mechanisms of the two metals differed for CA and MA, as well as, Langmuir and Temkin equations best fitted the isotherm data. Moreover, the kinetic data of Cu(II) and Pb(II) fitted well with Hill and Weibull-Avrami fractal models, respectively, illustrating that the kinetics of biosorption mechanism of Cu(II) onto one biosorbent differs from Pb(II). Upon comparing the obtained biosorption results, one can deduce that in the advanced treatment units of wastewater, MA acts as a more favorable biosorbent agent than CA. With the aim of further protecting the environment by reducing the percentage of solid waste generated from such treatment, the present study suggested the mixing of used algal biomass with cement and fuel in the cement and bricks factories.

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Article Highlights

  • Comparison of biosorption ability of single (CA) and mixture (MA) of algae.

  • Pb(II) and Cu(II) chosen as model metal contaminants.

  • Different biosorption behavior of CA and MA.

  • Embodying isotherm data and kinetic data using different models.

  • Establishment of MA as superior biosorbent than CA for eradicating Cu(II) and Pb(II).

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Acknowledgements

Authors express their gratitude to colleagues at the University of Baghdad (Baghdad, Iraq) and Isra University (Amman, Jordan) for their spiritual support at various stages of this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq

    Hala Abdelkareem & Abeer Alwared

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Isra University, Amman, Jordan

    Tariq Jwad Al-Musawi

  3. Faculty of Applied Sciences, Liège University, Liège, Belgium

    Francois Brouers

Authors
  1. Hala Abdelkareem
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  2. Abeer Alwared
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  3. Tariq Jwad Al-Musawi
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  4. Francois Brouers
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Correspondence to Tariq Jwad Al-Musawi.

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Abdelkareem, H., Alwared, A., Al-Musawi, T.J. et al. A Comparative Study for the Identification of Superior Biomass Facilitating Biosorption of Copper and Lead Ions: A Single Alga or a Mixture of Algae. Int J Environ Res 13, 533–546 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-019-00194-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-019-00194-9

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