Biotechnological potential of Azolla filiculoides for biosorption of Cs and Sr: Application of micro-PIXE for measurement of biosorption

The presence of Cs and Sr in culture medium of Azolla filiculoides caused about 27.4% and 46.3% inhibition of biomass growth, respectively, in comparison to A. filiculoides control weight which had not metals. Biosorption batch experiments were conducted to determine the Cs and Sr binding ability of native biomass and chemically modified biosorbents derived from Azolla namely ferrocyanide Azolla sorbents type 1 and type 2 (FAS1 and FAS2) and hydrogen peroxide Azolla sorbent (HAS). The best Cs and Sr removal results were obtained when A. filiculoides was treated by 2 M MgCl2 and 30 ml H2O2 8 mM at pH 7 for 12 h and it was then washed by NaOH solution at pH 10.5 for 6 h. Pretreatment of Azolla have been suggested to modify the surface characteristics which could improve biosorption process. The binding of Cs and Sr on the cell wall of Azolla was studied with micro-PIXE and FT-IR.