Removal and recovery of uranium from aqueous solutions by Trichoderma harzianum

Removal and recovery of uranium from dilute aqueous solutions by indigenously isolated viable and non-viable fungus (Trichoderma harzianum) and algae (RD256, RD257) was studied by performing biosorption-desorption tests. Fungal strain was found comparatively better candidate for uranium biosorption than algae. The process was highly pH dependent. At optimized experimental parameters, the maximum uranium biosorption capacity of T harzianum was 612 mg U g(-1) whereas maximum values of uranium biosorption capacity exhibited by algal strains (RD256 and RD257) were 354 and 408 mg U g(-1) and much higher in comparison with commercially available resins (Dowex-SBR-P and IRA-400). Uranium biosorption by algae followed Langmuir model while fungus exhibited a more complex multilayer phenomenon of biosorption and followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. Mass balance studies revealed that uranium recovery was 99.9%, for T. harzianum, and 97.1 and 95.3% for RD2S6 and RD257, respectively, by 0.1 M Hydrochloric acid which regenerated the uranium-free cell biomass facilitating the sorption-desorption cycles for better economic feasibility. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.