Studies on fixed-bed biosorption and elution of copper using polyvinyl alcohol-immobilized seaweed biomass

Biosorption of copper by inactivated biomass of the brown marine alga Sargassum baccularia immobilized in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) beads was investigated. PVA-immobilized biomass beads were packed in a laboratory-scale fixed-bed column and subjected to three consecutive cycles of copper loading and elution. Bound copper was eluted with solutions containing a range of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) concentrations. Up to 100% of the bound copper was consistently recovered from immobilized biomass using an aqueous solution containing 4mM EDTA in repeated loading/elution cycles. The PVA-immobilized biomass beads were shown to be robust and stable with little decrease in the copper uptake capacity under dynamic flow conditions. The excellent reusability of the new biosorbent could lead to the development of a viable metal removal technology.