Biosorption of Cu (II) onto chemically modified waste mycelium of Aspergillus awamori: Equilibrium, kinetics and modeling studies

Abstract

The biosorption potential of chemically modified waste mycelium of industrial xylanase-producing strain Aspergillus awamori for Cu (II) removal from aqueous solutions was evaluated. The influence of pH, contact time and initial Cu (II) concentration on the removal efficiency was evaluated. Maximum biosorption capacity was reached by sodium hydroxide treated waste fungal mycelium at pH 5.0. The Langmuir adsorption equation matched very well the adsorption equilibrium data in the studied conditions. The process kinetic followed the pseudo-firs order model.

Keywords

• Aspergillus awamori
• biomass modification
• biosorption
• Cu (II) removal
• waste fungal mycelium