(227a) Copper Removal from Wastewater by Biosorption

Sustainable development requires wastewater management. Heavy metals such as copper, cadmium, lead and zinc are the critical metals in wastewater. The treatment of wastewater is vital functions in any society; hence securing them for current and future generations is an important part of sustainable development. The main objective of this work is to increase water use efficiency and recycling water which is an integrated approach to sustainable development.

In this present work, copper biosorption by formalin washed Aspergillus niger was characterized. The nature and binding mechanism of chemical groups in the formalin washed biomass responsible for copper biosorption was investigated as a function of pH and metal concentration, combined with Scanning Electron Micrograph (SEM), Image Analysis System (IAS), a nitrogen adsorption-desorption technique and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The retention capacity of the biomass was determined at pH 6.0 to be equal to 23.62 mg of copper/g of biomass. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm equations were then used to describe the behavior of the system. Based on the experimental data and surface analysis an efficient method was established for copper removal from wastewater so that it can be reused for domestic cleaning and industrial reuse.

Key words: Copper, Fungus, Biosorption, Biomass, and Characterization.