A model for ph dependent equilibrium of heavy metal biosorption

Biosorption of heavy metals can be an effective process for the removal and recovery of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions. The biomass of marine macro algae has been reported to have high uptake capacities for a number of heavy metal ions and the uptake capacities are strongly influenced by the value of the solution pH. In this paper, a modified Langmuir model was proposed for describing the pH dependent biosorption equilibrium and validated with isotherm data obtained from batch experiments and from the literature. The model assumes that the functional groups for heavy metal interactions are weakly acidic and the uptake capacities of the biomass are affected through the association and dissociation equilibrium between two apparent ionic forms. The model equations fitted the experimental data well, which supports the biosorption mechanism proposed.