Eliminación de cationes Cr(III) y Pb(II) en disolución acuosa mediante procesos de bioadsorción

Abstract

In the present work, the removal of Pb (II) and Cr (III) cations in aqueous solution is studied by biosorption processes with sodium alginate. First, the study was carried out using Milli-Q water, analyzing the removal efficiency of both cations separately and in bicomponent systems (that is, in which both cations are present at the same time) with the aid of statistical design of experiments and surface response methodology. Likewise, the kinetic aspects of the process are studied. The theoretical operation conditions in which an optimum for the response variable would be reached are also determined, maximizing the elimination efficiency of Cr (III) and Pb (II) in both single-component and bicomponent systems, the removal rate of Cr (III) and, simultaneously, the efficiency and kinetics of the process. Once the theoretical optimal values were calculated, an experimental corroboration was carried out. In a second stage the process of biosorption of lead and chromium is studied using a real aqueous matrix, specifically water from the Alange reservoir (Badajoz), studying the influence that the different ions present in the water exerted on the removal process of Cr and Pb. With such an aim, a series of synthetic aqueous matrices were prepared and the biosorption process of the cations studied in this work was analyzed. Finally, as well as when using distilled water as an aqueous matrix, the removal efficiency of the cations in single- and bi-component systems was analyzed.