Equilibrium, Kinetic, and Thermodynamic Studies on the Biosorption of Selenium (IV) Ions onto Ganoderma Lucidum Biomass

The capacity of Ganoderma lucidum biomass for biosorption of selenium (IV) ions from aqueous solution was studied in a batch mode. In this study the effects of operating parameters such as solution pH, adsorbent dosage, initial metal concentration, contact time, and temperature were investigated. The adsorption capacity of G. lucidum was found to be 126.99 mg g(-1). The biosorption follows pseudo-first order kinetics and the isotherms fit well to both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Isotherms have been used to determine thermodynamic parameters of the process, that is, free energy, enthalpy, and entropy changes. Furthermore, the biosorbent was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and FT-IR analysis. FT-IR analysis of fungal biomass shows the presence of amino, carboxyl, hydroxyl, and carbonyl groups, which were responsible for the biosorption of selenium(IV) ions. The results indicated that the biomass of G. lucidum is an efficient biosorbent for the removal of selenium (IV) ions from aqueous solutions.