Proceedings of
2nd International Conference on Advances in Bio-Informatics, Bio-Technology and Environmental Engineering ABBE 2014
"ADSORPTION OF PB(II) IONS ON SPIRULINA BIOMASS: AN ECO-FRIENDLY PROCESS"
Abstract: “Heavy metals pose a serious threat as toxic pollutants in the environment. Lead poisoning has been reported to affect several human organs including heart, kidneys, bones, intestines and nervous system. Conventional methods employed to remove toxic heavy metals from environments are very expensive and cause many environmental problems. The use of non-living biomass of many microorganisms have been recognized to be very effective in biological removal of toxic substances. In this investigation, we report on the biosorption of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solutions by the nonliving biomass of the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis. Propagation of the cyanobacterium was carried out in outside oblong raceway ponds. The biomass was cleaned, dried and used for the investigation. The effect of adsorbent dose, pH, temperature, initial concentration of Pb(II) and contact time by the dry biomass were studied. The experiments were carried out in triplicate in 250 ml conical flasks using an orbital in”
Keywords: Biosorption, lead ions, aqueous solutions, Spirulina.