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Modelling complexation and electrostatic attraction in heavy metal biosorption by Sargassum biomass

  • Conference paper
Sixteenth International Seaweed Symposium

Part of the book series: Developments in Hydrobiology ((DIHY,volume 137))

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Abstract

Biosorption, the passive accumulation of metal ions by biomass, can be used for purifying metal bearing wastewater. Seaweeds represent a readily available source of biosorbent material that possesses a high metal binding capacity. For example, Sargassum can accumulate 2 mequiv of Cd per gram of biomass i.e. 10% of its dry weight. Binding of Cd and Cu by Sargassum is an ion exchange process involving both covalent and ionic bonds. The amount of cations bound covalently or by complexation can be predicted using multi-component sorption isotherms involving 2 types of binding sites, carboxyl and sulphate. A Donnan model was used to account for the effect of ionic strength and electrostatic attraction. The use of a multi-component isotherm that included one term for Na binding was less appropriate than the Donnan model for modelling ionic strength effects. It was possible to predict metal and proton binding as a function of the pH value, metal concentration and ionic strength of the solution.

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Abbreviations

Bt :

total number of binding sites B mequiv g−1

Ct :

total number of carboxyl sites C mequiv g−1

I:

ionic strength mM

Kj :

lumped equilibrium constant for binding of ion j L mmol−1

KCj :

equilibrium constant for binding of ion j to C-sites L mmol−1

KSj :

equilibrium constant for binding of ion j to S-sites L mmol−1

m:

mass of biosorbent g

pKa :

-log of acid dissociation constant —

qj :

total amount of cation j bound (covalent + electrostatic) to all binding sites mequiv g−1

St :

total amount of sulphate sites S mequiv g−1

V:

volume of solution L

Vm :

specific cation binding volume per dry weight of biosorbent mL g−1

Yv :

fitting parameter for Vm mL mequiv−1

λ:

concentration factor (intraparticle / bulk)

[ ]:

concentration of molecular species in brackets mM

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

    Silke Schiewer

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  1. Silke Schiewer
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Joanna M. Kain Murray T. Brown Marc Lahaye

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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Schiewer, S. (1999). Modelling complexation and electrostatic attraction in heavy metal biosorption by Sargassum biomass. In: Kain, J.M., Brown, M.T., Lahaye, M. (eds) Sixteenth International Seaweed Symposium. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 137. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4449-0_73

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4449-0_73

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5909-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-4449-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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