A review of heavy metal adsorption by marine algae

Accumulation of heavy metals by algae had been studied extensively for biomonitoring or bioremediation purposes. Having the advantages of low cost raw material, big adsorbing capacity, no secondary pollution, etc., algae may be used to treat industrial water containing heavy metals. The adsorption processes were carried out in two steps: rapid physical adsorption first, and then slow chemical adsorption. pH is the major factor influencing the adsorption. The Freundlich equation fitted very well the adsorption isotherms. The uptake decreased with increasing ionic strength. The principal mechanism of metallic cation sequestration involves the formation of complexes between a metal ion and functional groups on the surface or inside the porous structure of the biological material. The carboxyl groups of alginate play a major role in the complexation. Different species of algae and the algae of the same species may have different adsorption capacity. Their selection affinity for heavy metals was the major criterion for the screening of a biologic adsorbent to be used in water treatment. The surface complex formation model (SCFM) can solve the equilibrium and kinetic problems in the biosorption.