Liquid Phase Separation of As(V) from Aqueous Solution Using Pretreated Paecilomyces variotii Biomass

Biosorption of As(V) was carried out using Paecilomyces variotii biomass in batch and column mode experiments. Various pretreatments like autoclaving (APV), iron doping (FePV), and PVP K25 doping (PVPPV) of biomass were carried out to increase and compare the adsorption efficiency of As(V) onto the biomass. At maximum concentration of 2.5mg/L of As(V), the removal was observed to be 58.4, 51.29, and 47.7% with FePV, PVPPV, and APV biomass respectively. PVPPV required comparatively less time (135min) to attain equilibrium when compared to other adsorbents (165min). FePV showed higher As(V) adsorption capacity (Qo) of 1.563mg/L in batch mode. The batch mode data were analysed using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms and first order and pseudo second-order kinetic models. The maximum removal was observed at pH 2 with FePV. In column mode experiments, the change in the flow rate and the bed volume affected the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent. FePV showed maximum adsorption of As(V) in column mode experiments also. The desorption experiments revealed that the adsorbents could be reused so that it can be a cost-effective adsorbent for As(V) removal from drinking water.