A Comparative Biosorption Study of Ni2+ and Co2+ Removal Using R. erythropolis and Modified Banana Peel

摘要

Discard and distribution of heavy metals ions through industrial effluents of metallurgical, ceramic, dye, wood preservatives and pesticides manufacturing industries has adverse effects on the environment. Biosorption of metallic species from aqueous solutions has proved to be a very promising process for the treatment of these effluents, offering significant advantages such as low cost, ease of operation, and high efficiency, especially, when dealing with low metal ion concentrations. Biological materials (biomasses) have affinity for inorganic pollutants, with effective biosorption potential to uptake of metal ions, chemical treatments can also be used to modify their surface chemistry and increase their biosorption capability. In this work, the Rhodococcus erythropolis and modified banana peel were used as biosorbents for the removal of nickel (I) and colbalt (II) from aqueous solutions. The objective was the evaluation of the biosorption capacity of both biosorbents. The parameters studied were, pH solution, initial heavy metal ions concentration, initial biomass concentration and equilibrium time. The biosorption process was also evaluated by adsorption isotherms. It was observed that the removal efficiency was depending on solution pH, it can be explain due to the ionizing of the biomass functional groups as a function of pH. The results showed the potential of both biomasses for the removal of Ni2+ and Co2+, however, modified banana peel presented a higher biosorptive capacity than R. erythropolis. Thus, it is highlight the application of modified banana peel as biosorbent for the treatment of industrial effluents containing nickel and cobalt species.