Application of Novel Adsorbent Prepared by Mucor hiemalis Biomass Impregnated with Calcium Alginate for Removal of Sr2+ from Aqueous Solutions

• Published in: Journal of polymers and the environment 2019-07, Vol.27 (7), p.1572-1583
• Main Authors: Naeimi, Shakiba, Faghihian, Hossein
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorbents; Adsorption; Alginic acid; Aqueous solutions; Biomass; Calcium; Calcium alginate; Calcium ions; Chemical synthesis; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Magnesium; Materials Science; Mucor hiemalis; Original Paper; Polymer Sciences; Selectivity
• ISSN: 1566-2543; 1572-8919
• DOI: 10.1007/s10924-019-01453-8

In this research, a novel biosorbent was prepared by Mucor hiemalis biomass combined with calcium alginate ( Mucor hiemalis /Alg-Ca). The dead biomass was entrapped into alginate gel by curing method in the presence of Ca 2+ ions. The synthesized biosorbent characterized by XRD, EDAX, BET, FTIR, and SEM techniques was used for removal of Sr 2+ from aquatic streams under various experimental conditions and the optimized adsorption capacity of 140 mg g −1 was obtained. The selectivity of the adsorbent towards Sr 2+ studied in the presence of Na + , Cs + , Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ was reasonably high. The adsorption process was kinetically fast and the equilibrium was established within 60 min, and followed the pseudo-second order kinetics model. The equilibrium data was well described by Langmuir isotherm model. The thermodynamics parameters (∆G°, ∆H° and ∆S°) of the process were determined. Positive ∆H° and negative ∆G° were indicative of the endothermic and spontaneous nature of the adsorption process. Graphical Abstract