Biosorption of uranium(VI) by free and entrapped Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: kinetic, equilibrium and thermodynamic studies

Biosorption of uranium from aqueous solution onto the free and entrapped algae, “Chlamydomonas reinhardtii” in carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) beads was investigated in a batch system using bare CMC beads as a control system. CMC can be a potential natural biosorbent for radionuclide removal as it contains carboxyl groups. However, limited information is available with the biosorption of uranium by CMC, when adsorption isotherm, kinetics and thermodynamics parameters are concerned. The biosorbent preparations were characterized by swelling tests, FTIR, and surface area studies. The effects of pH, temperature, ionic strength, biosorbent dosage, and initial uranium concentrations on uranium biosorption were investigated. Freely suspended algae exhibited the highest uranium uptake capacity with an initial uranium ion concentration of 1,000 mg/L at pH of 4.5 and at 25 °C. The removal of U(VI) ion from the aqueous solution with all the tested biosorbents increased as the initial concentration of U(VI) ion increased in the medium. Maximum biosorption capacities for free algal cells, entrapped algal cells, and bare CMC beads were found to be 337.2, 196.8, and 153.4 mg U(VI)/g, respectively. The kinetic studies indicated that the biosorption of U(VI) ion was well described by the pseudo-second order kinetic model. The variations in enthalpy and entropy for the tested biosorbent were calculated from the experimental data. The algal cells entrapped beads were regenerated using 10 mM HNO3, with up to 94 % recovery. Algal cells entrapped CMC beads is a low cost and a potential composite biosorbent with high biosorption capacity for the removal of U(VI) from waters.