Biosorption of copper from wastewater by activated carbon preparation from alga Sargassum sp.

In this study, the batch removal of copper(II) ions from an aqueous solution and wastewater using marine brown alga Sargassum sp. was investigated. Activated carbon prepared from Sargassum sp. by acid decomposition was also used for the removal of copper from the aqueous solution and wastewater. Activated carbon-prepared marine algae were used as a low-cost sorbent. The effect of pH, biosorption time, adsorbent dose and metal ion concentration were considered. The most effective pH was found to be 4.0. The biosorption capacities were pH dependent on the solution and the maximum uptake for copper with initial concentrations of 70, 100 and 150 mg L-1 at pH 4.0 were obtained as 95.68, 95.09 and 94.83%, respectively. Total metal ion biosorption occurs within 2 h. The equilibrium adsorption data are fitted to Lomgmuir and Frendlich isotherm models. Both models represent the experimental data satisfactorily. The adsorption follows second-order kinetics. This study shows that the use of activated carbon is a valuable material for the removal of copper from aqueous solutions and wastewater, and a better substitute for use in activated marine brown algae.