STUDY ON BIOSORPTION OF COPPER AND LEAD IONS BY SPIRULINA PLATENSIS

Abstract

   Dry biomass of the microalga (cyanobacterium) Spirulina Platensis was used as biosorbent for the removal of copper (Cu2+) and lead (Pb2+) ions from aqueous solutions. Very high levels of removal reaching up to 91.2% for Cu2+ and 92.5% for Pb2+ were obtained. The highest percentage of removal was reached at pH 7 for Cu2+ and 5 for Pb2+, 0.05 g of biosorbent, 35 °C, 100 mg/l of copper and 20 mg/l of lead concentration after 90 min of contact time. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were applied to describe the adsorption isotherm of the metal ions by Spirulina Platensis. Results indicated that Spirulina Platensis is a very good candidate for the removal, the maximum adsorption capacity was reached to 312.5 mg/g for Cu2+ and 256.4 mg/g for Pb2+.

Keywords: Spirulina Platensis, copper, lead, biosorbent