BINDING OF METAL-IONS BY PARTICULATE BIOMASS DERIVED FROM CHLORELLA-VULGARIS AND SCENEDESMUS-QUADRICAUDA

The metal-binding properties of particulate materials derived from Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus quadricauda were investigated. The two algae showed very similar binding patterns for silver, copper, cadmium, and zinc. Most metal uptake from aqueous solutions occurred within 1 min. Copper, cadmium, and zinc binding was very pH-dependent; Ag was bound very strongly over a wide pH range. General binding efficiencies decrease in the order Ag > Cu > Cd > Zn. Coincidental metals caused both enhancements and depressions in metal binding. Copper, cadmium, and zinc can easily be stripped from the algae with a pH 2 buffer with little loss of binding efficiency over several binding-stripping cycles. Copper, cadmium, and zinc were retained by a chromatographic column packed with particulate biomass of S. quadricauda immobilized in a cross-linked copolymer of ethyl acrylate-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate. Copper was successfully desorbed by using a pH gradient. © 1990, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.