Simultaneous biosorption of phenol and nickel(II) from binary mixtures onto dried aerobic activated sludge

Although the biosorption of single and multi-metal ions to various kinds of microorganisms has been extensively studied, very little attention has been given to the bioremoval of organic-metal ion mixtures. In this study, the uptake of phenol and nickel(II) ions, both singly and in combination, by dried aerobic activated sludge was studied in a batch system. The effects of initial pH and single- and dual-component concentrations on the equilibrium uptakes were investigated. The optimum initial biosorption pH was determined as 4.5 for nickel(II) ions and as 1.0 for phenol. Multi-component biosorption studies were performed at these two initial pH values. It was observed that the equilibrium uptakes of phenol and nickel(II) ions were changed due to the initial biosorption pH and the presence of other components. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.