Investigation on Pleurotus ferulae potential for the sorption of Pb(II) from aqueous solution

Pleurotus ferulae obtained from rotten tree was collected, washed, dried, ground and sieved to appropriate particle size. Infra-red spectrometry was used to determine functional groups on the biomass while biosorption of Pb(II) from aqueous solution was studied using the biomass in a batch system. The effect of pH (1-7.5), temperature (30-50 oC), biomass dosage of 0.5-4 g and initial metal concentration (20-300 mg/L) was studied. Equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics consideration were evaluated from the studied parameters to evaluate the adsorption potential of the biomass. The functional groups on the dried P. ferulae were: –OH, –NH, –COO and –C–O. In the batch experiments maximum biosorption was observed at initial pH of 3.0, temperature of 30 oC and at the initial metal concentration of 100 mg/L. A contact time 20 min was sufficient for quantitative sorption of lead. It was observed that pseudo second order rate expression fit the experimental data and equilibrium analysis showed that the biosorption process followed Langmuir model. Thermodynamic analysis showed that the process was exothermic and Go was negative showing spontaneity of the process within the studied temperature. KEY WORDS: Biosorption, Pb(II), Pleurotus ferulae, Biomass Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2013, 27(1), 25-34. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v27i1.3