Biosorption of lead by a soil isolate Aspergillus neoalliaceus

This study focused on Pb (II) elimination from aqueous solutions using fungal soil isolate which is identified as Aspergillus neoalliaceus. The sorption of lead with fungal mass studies was performed as a function of pH, biomass dose, contact time, and initial dye concentration. The solution pH value strongly affected the sorption of lead fungal mass. To examine the effect of hydrogen ions on biosorption in solutions containing lead, solutions with different pH values were used and pH 5 was found to be the most suitable pH value for lead removal. Lead biosorption remained very low below pH 4 because of the competing effect of hydrogen ions in the solution. It has been observed that the removal of lead ions based on biosorption with Aspergillus neoalliaceus is better explained by Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models compared to other used models. The biosorption of Pb (II) was determined as a spontaneous and endothermic process.