Studies on Biosorption Equilibrium and Kinetics of Pb(II) by a Novel Extracellular Biopolymer Produced by Pseudomonas Fluorescence C-9

In the present study we reported the feasibility of extracellular biopolymer (PF-9) produced by Pseudomonas fluorescence C-9 as an alternative biosorbent to remove Pb(II) metallic ions from environmental and industrial wastewater.The ability of PF-9 to remove the metallic ions was investigated by using batch biosorption procedure. The effects such as, pH, biosorbent dosage, sorbate concentrations and sorbate-sorbent contact time on the adsorption capacities of PF-9 were studied. Biosorption equilibriums were rapidly established in about 60 min and the adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second order kinetics model. The equilibrium adsorption data fitted well with Langmuir isotherm. The maximum Pb(II) adsorption capacity determined according to Langmuir isotherm were 92.66 mg /g PF-9 at pH 6.0, at 25°C and shaker speed 150 rpm, respectively. The carboxyl ,hydroxyl and amino groups of the PF-9 were involved in chemical interaction with the Pb(II) ions depicted by scanning electron microscopic (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) results. The study points to the potential of new use of extracellular biopolymer PF-9 as an effective biosorbent for the removal of Pb(II) from environmental and industrial wastewater.