Removal of Copper(II) from Aqueous Solution by Pre-treated Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

The biosorption of copper(II) ions from aqueous solution by dead S. cerevisiae treated with methanol, ethanol and sodium hydroxide was investigated. Batch experiments were conducted to investigate the key parameters affecting the biosorption capacity of S. cerevisiae for copper ion. Removal efficiency of biosorbents was studied as a function of pH (2–5), temperature (20–40 °C), initial copper ion concentration (20–120 mg/L), biosorbent dose (0.5 – 5 g/L), and contact time (0–120 min). Maximum biosorption capacity of 11.6 mg/g for the untreated younger cell was observed at pH of 5.0 and at 50 °C with a biosorbent dose of 3 g/L and copper ion concentration of 75 mg/L. The highest metal uptake value (17.7 mg/g) was obtained by sodium hydroxide treated yeast. Desorption studies showed that Cu(II) ions could be removed from the biomass with EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) easily and the regenerated biomass could be reused repeatedly without any significant loss in its effectives.

Keywords

• Biosorption, Copper, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Wastewater, Removal