Heavy metal uptake capacities of common marine macro algal biomass

Biosorption of heavy metals is an effective technology for the treatment of industrial waste waters. The uptake capacities of the biomass of a group o f nine marine macro algae for heavy metal ions (cadmium, copper and lead) w ere evaluated. Equilibrium isotherms For each biomass-heavy metal system we re obtained from batch adsorption experiments. The maximum uptake capacitie s of the biomass ranged from around 0.8 to 1.6 mmol/g (dry), which were muc h higher than those of other types of biomass. The results indicated that t he biomass of the marine algae is suitable for the development of efficient biosorbents for the removal and recovery of heavy metals from waste water. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. Ail rights reserved.