The uptake of copper from aqueous solution by immobilized fungal biomass

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Abstract
The removal of cupric ions from aqueous solution by a biosorption column in which the Rhizopus arrhizus fungal biomass was immobilized in reticulated foam biomass support particles was studied. Solution pH was found to be crucial to copper uptake, with the optimum range being 6·7–7·0. The removal efficiency was usually higher at low influent copper concentration and long residence time. The presence of other cations and anions inhibited copper uptake in the following order: for the cations, Mn2+ ≫ Zn2+ > Cd2+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+; for the anions, EDTA ≫ SO ≫ Cl−. The biosorption process was fully reversible and regenerated columns showed undiminished performance.