REMOVAL OF ZINC(II) FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION USING NON-LIVING Oscillatoria sp.

Heavy metal pollution has become one of the major environmental problems in recent years. In this study potential of dried green alga Oscillatoria sp. to remove Zn(II) by biosorption from aqueous solution was evaluated. The algal biomass was found to remove zinc ions efficiently. The rate of biosorption was affected by contact time, pH, initial zinc ion concentration and temperature. Optimal initial pH for Zn(II) sorption was observed to be 6. The uptake of Zn(II) by algal biomass is very rapid in the initial contact time of 10 minutes. Metal uptake capacity of Oscillatoria sp. increased with increase in initial metal ion concentrations. Temperature has been found to have a positive effect on the removal of the zinc by Oscillatoria sp. The experimental data fitted well in both the Freundlich and Langmuir Isotherms(R 2 >0.9828). Q max obtained from the Langmuir Isotherms was found to be 31.0 mg/g of algal biomass. The sorbed zinc ions were effectively desorbed using 0.1N HCl.