Biosorption of Cu (II) using free and immobilized biomass of Penicillium citrinum

Fungus Penicillium citrinum biomass was used as biosorbent for removal of Cu (II) from aqueous solution. Biosorption potential of immobilized and free biomass of fungus P. citrinum was studied in batch process for metal removal. Effect of pH, contact time, metal ion concentration and biosorbent dose was studied on Cu (II) removal. Maximum biosorption was observed 76.2% at pH 5.0, contact time of 30 min and biosorbent dose of 0.10 g/100 mL using immobilized biomass. With free biomass maximum removal of 74.1% removal was observed under conditions of pH 5.0, contact time of 20 min and biosorbent dose of 0.15 g/100 mL. The biosorption potential of immobilized biomass was higher than the biosorption potential of free biomass. On application of adsorption isotherms, the data followed Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms and also exhibited very high correlation coefficients which confirmed suitability of the model and biosorption process.