Bioadsorption of lead(II) from aqueous solution by fungal biomass of Aspergillus niger

The removal of lead by waste fungal biomass of Aspergillus niger, originate d from citric acid fermentation industry, was investigated. The experimenta l results indicated that the bioadsorption achieved equilibrium within 4 h. The kinetic analysis of lead adsorption onto the fungal biomass revealed t hat the bioadsorption process followed the first-order reaction kinetics. T he adsorption isotherm can be simulated by Freundlich model, which gave a c orrelation coefficient equal to 0.93. The lead-loaded biomass can be effect ively regenerated by 0.1 M nitric acid. This research demonstrated that the waste biomass of A. niger is a potential bioadsorbent for the removal of l ead from aqueous solution. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserv ed.