Biological Uptake of Chromium and Copper from Aqueous Systems by Penicillium notatum Biomass

Fungi have been shown to play an important role in the bioremediation of contaminated water and soils. The biosorption potential of a fungus, Penicillium notatum for chromium and copper ions in aqueous solution of their salts was investigated in this study. The effects of various parameters on the biosorption process were evaluated. These parameters which include biosorbent dose, solution pH, contact time and initial metal ion concentration were evaluated. The study showed that the maximum removal efficiency for chromium ions was recorded at pH 5 while that for copper was attained at pH 9. There was also an increase in biosorptive amount with increase in initial metal ion concentration for both ions. The equilibrium data for copper fitted better to the Langmuir isotherm compared to the Freundlich isotherm while that of chromium had a better fit for Freundlich isotherm compared to the Langmuir model. The maximum biosorption capacity, Qo, for chromium and copper obtained from the Langmuir plots are 23.15 and 4.02 (mg/g) respectively. This shows that Penicillium notatum biomass has the ability to remove these metal ions from contaminated waters under suitable conditions.