ViewArticle 3

International Journal of Environment and Bioenergy, 2013, 7(2): 91-107
International Journal of Environment and Bioenergy
ISSN: 2165-8951
Florida, USA
Journal homepage: www.ModernScientificPress.com/Journals/IJEE.aspx
Article

Biosorption of Toxic Heavy Metals by Unmodified Marine Red
Alga (Kappaphycus alvarezii): Kinetics and Isotherm Studies
Sohail Rafiq 1, Majid K.M. Ali 2, Mahyar Sakari 1, Jumat Sulaiman 2, Suhaimi M. Yasir 3, *
1

Water Research Unit (WRU), School of Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
2
Mathematics with Economics Programme, School of Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia
Sabah, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
3
Seaweed Research Unit (UPRL), School of Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sabah,
88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: [e-mail]; Tel.:
[phone] ext: 5778.
Article history: Received 5 July 2013, Received in revised form 13 August 2013, Accepted 30 August
2013, Published 15 October 2013.

Abstract: Present study has been undertaken to propose an alternative use of unmodified marine red alga (Kappaphycus alvarezii) (UMRA) as biosorbent for the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions. The biosorption studies were conducted in batch adsorption system as a function of contact time and initial metal ion concentration. The adsorption system attained equilibrium after 150 min of contact time for Pb (II), Cu (II), Zn
(II) and Cd (II). The removal efficiency of red alga improved as metal ions concentrations were lowered. The equilibrium sorption data was better explained by Langmuir isotherm model suggesting that the adsorption of metal cations observed monolayer sorption pattern.
Pseudo-first-order model, pseudo-second-order model and intraparticle diffusion model were utilised to test the sorption kinetics involved in the process. It was observed that pseudo-first-order kinetic model could better describe the

References: Ahmaruzzaman, M. (2011). Industrial wastes as low-cost potential adsorbents for the treatment of wastewater laden with heavy metals Amarasinghe, B.M.W.P.K. and Williams, R.A. (2007). Tea waste as a low cost adsorbent for removal of Cu and Pb from wastewater Ahmad, A.A., Hameed, B.H. and Aziz, N. (2007). Adsorption of direct dye on palm ash: Kinetic and equilibrium modeling Basci, N., Kocadagistan, E. and Kocadagistan, B. (2004). Biosorption of copper (II) from aqueous solutions by wheat shell Brown, P., Jefcoat, I.A., Parrish, D., Gill, S. and Graham, E. (2000). Evaluation of the adsorptive capacity of peanut hull pellets for heavy metals in solution Boonamnuayvitaya, V., Chaiya, C., Tanthapanichakoon, W. and Jarudilokkul, S. (2004). Removal of heavy metals by adsorbent prepared from pyrolysed coffee residues and clay Chowdhury, S. and Saha, P. (2010). Sea shell powder as a new adsorbent to remove Basic Green 4 (Malachite Green) from aqueous solutions: Equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies. Conrad, K. and Hansen, H.C.B. (2007). Sorption of Zinc and lead on coir. Bioresour. Technol., 98: 8997. Cimino, G., Passerini, A. and Toscano, G. (2000). Removal of toxic cations and Cr(VI) from aqueous solution by hazelnut shell Chuah, T.C., Jumasiah, A., Azni, I., Katayan, S. and Choong, S.Y.T. (2005). Rice husk as a potentially low-cost bio sorbent for heavy metal and dye removal: An overview Demirbas, A. (2008). Heavy metal adsorption onto agro-based waste materials: A Review. J. Hazard. Doyurum, S. and Çelik, A. (2006). Pb (II) and Cd (II) removal from aqueous solutions by olive cake. J. Feng, Q., Lin, Q., Gong, F., Sugita, S. and Shoya, M. (2004). Adsorption of lead and mercury by rice husk Fiol, N., Villaesscusa, I., Martinez, M., Miralles, N., Poch, J. and Serarols, J. (2006). Sorption of Pb(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Cd(II) from aqueous solution by olive stone waste, Sep Freundlich, H. (1906). Adsorption in solution. Phys. Chem. Soc., 40: 1361–1368. Ho, Y.S., Chiu, W.T., Hsu, C.S. and Huang, C.T. (2004). Sorption of lead ions from aqueous solutions using tree fern as adsorbent Hansen, H.K, Ribeiro, A. and Mateus, E. (2006). Biosorption of arsenic (V) with Lessonia nigrescens. Kumar, U. and Bandyopadhyay, M. (2006). Sorption of cadmium from aqueous solution using pretreated rice husk Li, X., Tang, Y., Cao, X., Lu, D., Luo, F. and Shao, W. (2008). Preparation and evaluation of orange peel cellulose adsorbents for effective removal of cadmium, zinc, cobalt and nickel Langmuir, I. (1918). The adsorption of gases on plane surfaces of glass, mica, and platinum. J. Am. Larsen, V.J. and Schierup, H.H. (1981). The use of straw for removal of heavy metals from wastewater Meunier, N., Laroulandie, J., Blais, V.F. and Tyagi, R.D. (2003). Cocoa shells for heavy metal removal from acidic solutions Naiya, T.K., Bhattacharya, A.K. and Das, S.K. (2008). Adsorption of Pb (II) by saw dust and neem bark from aqueous solutions Namane, A., Mekarazia, A., Benrachedi, K., Belhaneche-bensemra, N. and Hellal, A. (2005). Oliveira, W.E., Franca, A.S., Oliveira, L.S. and Rocha, S.D. (2008). Untreated coffee husks as biosorbents for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions Özcar, M., Sengil, I.A. and Türkmenter, H. (2008). Equilibrium, kinetic data and adsorption mechanism for adsorption of lead onto valonia tannin resin Quek,S.Y., Wase, D.A.J. and Forster, C.F. (1998). The use of sagowaste for the sorption of lead and copper Srivastava, V.C., Mall, I.D. and Mishra, I.M. (2006). Characterization of mesoporous rice husk ash (RHA) and adsorption kinetics of metal ions from aqueous solution onto RHA Singh, K.K., Rastogi, R. and Hasan, S.H. (2005). Removal of cadmium from wastewater using agricultural waste ‘rice polish’ Singh, K.K., Singh, A.K. and Hasan, S.H. (2006). Low cost bio-sorbent wheat bran for the removal of cadmium from wastewater: kinetic and equilibrium studies