Sorption Performance of Live and Heat-Inactivated Loofa-Immobilized Phanerochaete chrysosporium in Mercury Removal from Aqueous Solution

Abstract

<em>The sorption</em><em> behavior of loofa-immobilized Phanerochaete chrysosporium </em><em>mycelia</em><em> in two forms</em><em>, Live (L) and Heat-Inactivated (HIA), was studied for the removal of Hg²⁺ ions from aqueous solution. Using the Langmuir isotherm, the two key parameters for the sorption performance, q_m and the coefficient b, were obtained; the q_m values for Hg²⁺ ions were 72.46 mg/g and 92.59 mg/g and the b coefficients were 0.073 L/mg and 0.114 L/mg for the L and HIA biosorbents, respectively. Using the Freundlich isotherm, the values of k_F were determined as 13.28 and 21.30, and the values of the coefficient n were 3.22 and 3.51 for the L and HIA biosorbents, respectively. Although the biosorption data were well fitted by both the Langmuir and Freundlich models, the Langmuir isotherm gave a better fit, with a higher correlation coefficient than the Freundlich model. Moreover, the essential characteristic of the Langmuir isotherm model, described as the separation factor, was indicative of the favorable adsorption of Hg²⁺ onto both of the test biosorbents (02ads were 1.16</em><em>×</em><em>10^-3 g/mg·min and 1.08</em><em>×10^-3</em><em> g/mg·min for the L and HIA biosorbents, respectively. Regenerating the biosorbents was possible using hydrochloric acid to leach the sequestered mercury ions, providing an easy way to reduce the cost of the process. The prevailing criteria in the industrial selection and use of biosorbents were satisfactorily met by this system.</em>