Adsorption of heavy metals by biomaterials derived from the marine alga Ecklonia maxima

The adsorption of heavy metals onto biomaterial derived from the marine alga Ecklonia maxima was investigated via batch experiments. The adsorption equilibria of Cu, Ph and Cd could be represented by Langmuir isotherms and the capacity of fresh alga for Cu, Ph and Cd was approximately 85-94, 227-243 and 83.5 mg/g dry alga, respectively. The rate of adsorption onto the marine alga was high. The alga particle size played an important role in the adsorption behaviour. The coarse alga particles had a higher adsorption capacity and slower adsorption kinetics and could be regenerated without significant loss of capacity. In contrast, the fine alga particles had a lower adsorption capacity and faster adsorption kinetics and could not be regenerated without significant loss of capacity. Comparison with a commercial resin indicated that the activated biomass derived from E. maxima could be used as an efficient biosorbent for the treatment of waste waters containing heavy metals. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.