Column biosorption of lanthanum and europium by Sargassum

Batch and column biosorption of La3+ (lanthanum) and Eu3+ (europium) was studied using protonated Sargassum polycystum biomass. The ion exchange sorption mechanism was confirmed by the proportional release of protons and by the total normality of the solution, which remained constant during the process. Equilibrium isotherms were determined for the binary systems, La/H and Eu/H for a total normality of 3 meq g−1, which produced separation factors of 2.7 and 4.7, respectively, demonstrating a higher affinity of the biomass towards europium. Column runs with a single metal feed were used to estimate the intra-particle mass transfer coefficients for La and Eu (6.0×10−4 and 3.7×10−4 min−1, respectively). Modeling batch and column binary systems with proton as the common ion was able to predict reasonably well the behavior of a ternary system containing protons. The software FEMLAB was used for solving the set of coupled partial differential equations. Moreover, a series of consecutive sorption/desorption runs demonstrated that the metal could be recovered and the biomass reused in multiple cycles by using 0.1 N HCl with no apparent loss in the biosorbent metal uptake capacity.