Heavy metals are known to be dangerous pollutants. They enter the environment through industrial activities such as galvanization, metallurgy, mining, chemical production and due to runoff they can easily enter aquatic ecosystems. Various treatment technologies have been applied for the removal of heavy metals, among them adsorption is considered to be the most effective. The efficiency depends on the kinetic parameters and the adsorbent capacity. In the last decade, various biological materials have been investigated as adsorbents, particularly interesting is the use of waste biological materials, due to low-cost and efficiency.
In this research, the possibility of using waste fungal biomass as adsorbent for lead and cadmium has been investigated. Waste fungal biomass was obtained after production of Ganoderma lucidum fruiting bodies and is made of residues of fungi and substrate on which fungi was cultivated. A high amount of such waste is generated and therefore using this waste is highly desirable and in line with the modern trends of waste reduction in industry and the circular economy. Waste fungal biomass was pretreated with three different chemicals (0.5 M NaOH, 10 vol% H2O2 and 0.5 M NaCl). The removal efficiency and adsorption kinetics were determined for untreated and pretreated waste fungal biomass. With all four waste fungal biomass the removal efficiency for lead and cadmium was high and almost all metal ions were adsorbed in the first five minutes. For untreated waste fungal biomass and for pretreated with 0.5 M NaCl adsorption experiments were performed with different concentrations of waste fungal biomass and later Freundlich adsorption isotherm was determined.
As characteristics of waste fungal biomass are unknown, some morphological properties were determined using optical and scanning electron microscope. Specific surface area was calculated using BET method and was quite low. Particle size of the number distribution was determined with laser diffraction.
The investigated waste fungal biomass represents a great potential for adsorption of heavy metals from wastewaters or contaminated surface waters, due to the cost-effectiveness and the possibility to adsorb metals at low concentrations.
|