Biosorption of Chromium (VI) by Nonliving Fusarium sp. Isolated from Soil

Batch biosorption of chromium(VI) from an aqueous solution was studied using dry biomass of Fusarium sp. isolated from soil. At the initial metal ion concentration of 50 mg∕L and pH 2.0, the Cr(VI) adsorbed was 12.5 mg∕g of adsorbent. The Cr(VI) adsorbed increased with increasing initial metal ion concentration up to 500 mg∕L . A maximum removal of 47.5 mg∕g was observed at pH 2.0 at 500 mg∕L initial Cr(VI) concentration. An increase in pH from 2 to 6 decreased Cr(VI) removal from 12.5 to 2.2 mg∕g at 50 mg∕L metal ion concentration. At all the concentrations, the adsorption equilibrium was obtained within 2 h . The adsorption equilibrium constants were obtained from both Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms. The organism was also found to remove 42.5 mg of Cr(VI) per gram of adsorbent from an effluent (500 mg∕L) generated from an electroplating industry.