Copper biosorption from an aqueous solution by the dead biomass of Penicillium ochrochloron

The present study investigated the effect of contact time, the initial concentration of metal ions, and the biomass dose on the Cu(II) biosorption from an aqueous solution using dead biomass of filamentous fungus Penicillium ochrochloron, which was isolated at the Sossego mine, a copper-contaminated site located in Canaã dos Carajás city, Brazil. The Cu(II) biosorption started rapidly and increased gradually until the equilibrium was reached at 20 min. The Cu(II) uptake decreased as the initial Cu(II) concentration increased, reaching the saturation at 200 mg/L. The Cu(II) biosorption was considerably higher using 0.2 g than 0.5 g of the biomass in 50 mL of solution. The average biosorption capacity of Cu(II) was 7.53 mg/g and the maximum Cu(II) removal 75.0%. The Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models adequately described the adsorption data. Our results evidenced that the dead biomass of P. ochrochloron has a great potential as a biosorbent to remove copper from an aqueous solution. Therefore, it could be explored for the development of the environmental recovery process.