Evaluation of dry protonated calcium alginate beads for biosorption applications and studies of lead uptake

Alginate polysaccharide is a promising biosorbent for metal uptake. Dry protonated calcium alginate beads for biosorption applications were prepared, briefly characterized and tested for lead uptake. Several advantages of this biosorbent are reported and discussed in comparison with other alginate-based sorbents. The alginate beads contained 4.7 mmol/g of COOH groups, which suffered hydrolysis near pH 4. The Weber and Morris model, applied to kinetic results of lead uptake, showed that intraparticle diffusion was the rate-controlling step in lead sorption by dry alginate beads. Equilibrium experiments were performed and the data were fitted with different isotherm models. The Langmuir equation was the most adequate to model lead sorption. The maximum uptake capacity (qmax) was estimated as 339 mg/g and the Langmuir constant (b) as 0.84 l/mg. These values were compared with that of other sorbents found in the literature, indicating that dry protonated calcium alginate beads are among the best biosorbents for the treatment and recovery of heavy metals from aqueous streams.

A comparative study of alginate beads and an ion-exchange resin for the removal of heavy metals from a metal plating effluent

The capacity of dry protonated calcium alginate beads to sorb metals from an industrial effluent was studied and compared with a commercial ion-exchange resin (Lewatit TP 207). Both sorbents decreased zinc, nickel, iron and calcium concentrations in the effluent, and released sodium during treatment. Alginate beads removed lower amounts of heavy metals than the resin, but exhibited faster uptake kinetics. Zinc desorption from the sorbents was achieved in 30 minutes using 0.1 M HCl or 0.1 M H(2)SO(4). Desorption ratios with these acids varied between 90 and 100% for alginate, and 98 to 100% for the ion-exchange resin. Reusability tests with HCl showed that alginate beads can stand acid desorption and recover binding capacity. Overall, the comparison of dry protonated alginate beads with the resin supports the potential of the biosorbent for the treatment of industrial effluents.