Abstract

HIDALGO, Natalia et al. BIOSORPTION OF LEAD BY FUNGAL BIOMASSISOLATED FROM MINING WASTE OF THE HUALILÁN MINE, ARGENTINA. Ser. correl. geol. [online]. 2020, vol.36, n.1-2, pp.39-52. ISSN 1666-9479.

In the last decades, the treatment of waste water and effluents by using biologically originated biomass has provided new possibilities of environmental re-mediation. The study of the applicability of these biological methods aims at avoiding environmental, economic and technical issues associated with the use of physical-chemical methods. Among the biological technologies, biosorption is highlighted and it can be defined as the process in which metals and metalloids are removed from effluents by using biosorbents. Generally, these biosorbents have charged functional groups to bind the dissolved ions. Microorganisms, especially filamentous fungi, are excellent biosorbents of heavy metals. In general, various chemical and thermal modifications are performed on the fungi to optimize their adsorption capacity ability of these sorbents. Therefore, the objective of this work was to isolate and activate a native strain of filamentous fungi from mine wastes and quantify its Pb (II) adsorption capacity. For this purpose, samples were collected from the leaching pile of the Hualilán Mine (San Juan province, Argentina), a mine that is currently inactive, where gold and silver were the predominant elements mined, together with accompanying elements such as copper, zinc and lead. Tolerant filamentous fungi were isolated and adsorption tests were subsequently carried out by means of a combined study of different pH, and biomass and metal concentration, according to a Rotatable Central Composite Design (RCCD). On the basis of these tests, a quadratic surface was modeled and the best combination of factors was found to maximize the adsorption capacity. The experimental data was adjusted to the Langmuir and Freundlich models and the pseudo first and second order kinetic models to describe of the process. Finally, the lead adsorption capacity of PenicMum duniae (Quintanilla, 1990), without and with activation was determined as 60.00 mg/g and 77.95 mg/g respectively, with good fit to the Langmuir model and with good representation of the kinetic parameters.

Keywords : Lead; Biosorption; Mine waste; Bioremediation.

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