Mechanism of aluminum interference on uranium biosorption by Rhizopus arrhizus

Uranium competitive uptake experiments by Rhizopus arrhizus were carried out at three different solution pH levels and in the presence of different concentrations of competing aluminum ions in order to examine the competing ion effect. The coion effect became more pronounced as the coion concentration in solution and pH level increased. A preliminary examination of the effect of aluminum on the rate of uranium uptake was also completed. Results showed that the presence of aluminum does not interfere with the kinetics of uranium uptake by R. arrhizus. Electron microscopic and energy dispersive X-ray analyses were also performed on samples of the biomass. The combination of spectral data and the information from the equilibrium studies and the kinetic studies suggested that aluminum interferes with the uranium biosorptive uptake capacity of R. arrhizus by the precipitation of a metastable amorphous hydroxy polymeric precipitate through a mechanism we refer to as steric competition.