Sorption behaviour of copper(II), zinc(II) and nickel(II) on formaldehyde cross-linked Saccharomyces cerevisiae immobilized on pumice stone

Abstract

The adsorption of Cu, Zn and Ni on to formaldehyde cross-linked Saccharomyces cerevisiae immobilized on pumice stone was investigated. Maximum adsorption was occurred at pH 6 for all elements studied. The effect of mixing time and the initial concentration of metal ion on the adsorption of metal ions were also investigated. 1 mol l(-1) of HCl, KCl (pH 2) and NaCl (pH 2) solutions were tested for desorption and 1 mol l(-1) of KCl (pH 2) solution was found to be appropriate for the desorption of all metals studied. The desorption was 89.2% for Cu, 89.8% for Zn and 87.0 for Ni. The metal capacity of immobilized cell biomass (quantity of metals accumulatad by one gram biomass) was found as 2.09, 2.24 and 3.18 mg g(-1) dry cell biomass for Zn, Cu and Ni, respectively.