Biosorption of Reactive Blue 49 dye under batch and continuous mode using a mixed biosorbent of macro-fungus Agaricus bisporus and Thuja orientalis cones

A biosorbent was developed by mixing the macro-fungus Agaricus bisporus and Thuja orientalis cones and successfully used for the biosorption of Reactive Blue 49 (RB49) dye. The biosorbent system was evaluated in batch and continuous biosorption process. A series of batch studies was carried out to identify the optimum biosorption conditions such as pH, biosorbent dosage and equilibrium time. The biosorption process followed the pseudo-first-order and the pseudo-second-order kinetic models and the Freundlich, Langmuir and Dubinin–Radushkevich (D–R) isotherm models at different temperatures. The maximum biosorption capacity of the mixed biomass system was 1.85 × 10−4 mol g−1 at 45 °C. The negative ΔG° values and the positive ΔH° values indicated that the biosorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. The dynamic flow biosorption potential of the biomass system was investigated as a function of the flow rate, column size and inlet solute concentration. FTIR and SEM analysis were used to characterize the biosorbent and biosorption mechanism. The functional groups such as carboxyl, amine, amide and hydroxyl on the biosorbent surface may be responsible for RB49 biosorption. In combination, our results suggest that this eco-friendly and economical biomass system may be useful for the removal of contaminating reactive dyes.