Lead biosorption and desorption by intact and pretreated spirulina maxima biomass

In order to search for locally available and untried biomaterials in China with high removal capacity of heavy metals from wastewater, the feasibility of Spirulina maxima as biosorbent for lead removal and recovery from aqueous solution was investigated. The lead biosorption was studied by using intact biomass and pretreated biomass of S. maxima. The effects of operational conditions (e.g. pH, contact time, biomass concentration etc.) on lead biosorption were investigated. The biosorption was solution pH dependent and the maximum adsorption was obtained at a solution pH of about 5.5. The adsorption equilibrium was reached in 60 min. The biosorption followed the Freundlich isotherm model. The maximum removal ratios of lead were about 84% in intact biomass and 92% in pretreated biomass. The lead adsorbed could be desorbed effectively by 0.1 M nitric acid, EDTA and hydrochloric acid. The results in this study indicated that pretreated biomass of S. maxima was a promising candidate for removing lead from wastewater.