Correlation of pH Dependant Equilibrium Isotherms of Heavy Metal Biosorption with a Modified Freundlich Model

Abstract

Equilibrium isotherms of heavy metal biosorption are commonly correlated with adsorption models such as the Freundlich model. On the other hand, the adsorption properties of heavy metal biosorption are strongly influenced by the solution pH of the biosorption system. Therefore, standard adsorption models are limited to the correlation of equilibrium isotherms under constant pH values. In this paper, a modified Freundlich model was developed for the correlation of pH dependent equilibrium isotherms of heavy metal biosorption. The model was based on the mechanism that the functional groups for heavy metal interactions are weakly acidic groups and the uptake capacities of the biomass are affected through the association and dissociation equilibrium between two apparent ionic forms. Both the standard and the modified Freundlich models were tested with isotherm data for Cd2+, Cu2+ and Ni2+ biosorption onto pre-treated biomass of marine alga Durvillaea potatorum under various solution pH values. Regression analyses indicated that the developed model correlated the experimental data well.