Removal of silver and copper ions by biosorption residue of marine alginate extraction

Abstract

This project aims to study the removal of silver and copper ions using asbio adsorbent the residue from the extraction of alginate from seaweed Sargassum filipendula. The biosorption will be studied by static and dynamic tests in batch and fixed bed column. The residue of alginate extraction has been evaluated as adsorbent recently and is already presenting great potential for this use in view of the proven effectiveness of Sargassum filipendula algae as adsorbent of toxic metals, in addition, it is possible to make use of commercial application of alginate extracted in pharmaceutical and food industries as thickening and gelling. The residue from the post bioadsorption extraction process will be characterized to better understand their composition and adsorption characteristics. The techniques of scanning electron microscopy, spectroscopy in the infrared region, among others, will be employed. The experiments involve the kinetic and equilibrium study and assays in fixed bed column. Mathematical models will be evaluated to describe the kinetics and thermodynamic equilibrium as well as the behavior of the bioadsorbent in fixed bed for the removal of metals from experimental breakthrough curve data. In this context, the use of this waste as an alternative adsorbent can contribute both to mitigation of environmental issues and to reduce costs in industrial processes. (AU)