Chemical Eng. J. 89.239- 252.
2002
Aspergillus niger and Penicillium austurianum were produced on a rotary shaker washed, dried, and sieved. The 1 g of each biomass were introduced into tiny columns and Erlenmeyer flasks of 50 ml volume, to study the effect of agitation, cadmium in solution concentration and a wide range of pH. The samples were analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy (Shimadsu AA67) at 228.8 nm. The adsorption data of A. niger were fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich models and R2 higher than 0.97 and 0.98 obtained. In a different set of experiments the effects of cadmium concentration in solution, temperature, aeration velocity and mixed culture of 1:1 and 3:1 ratio employing a glass made airlift fermenter were investigated. The results show that the operation temperature of 22±1 °C and pH 4 and 5 are suitable for biosorption, using active fungi. It was also found that 2 vvm aeration is reasonably sound to produce biomass and biosorption using A. niger in the airlift reactor.