In this thesis, I studied the potential use of Ganoderma lucidum fungal biomass for the removal of trivalent chromium (Cr(III)) from aqueous solutions. I pretreated the biomass using four different chemical pretreatments: sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO$_3$), hydrogen peroxide (H$_2$O$_2$), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), and citric acid. Experiments were carried out at two initial chromium concentrations (1 mg/L and 10 mg/L), and the influence of time, biosorbent mass and pretreatment on the efficiency of metal adsorption has been investigated as well. The chromium concentration was determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS).
Based on the experimental data, I evaluated the biosorption kinetics, and applied Freundlich isotherm model to describe the adsorption process.
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