DEVELOPMENT OF FUNGAL BIOFILM ON LUFFA CYLINDRICA FOR BIOSORPTION OF ZINC (II) FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION

Fungal biosorption is relatively effective method that has been shown to have a considerable potential to remove heavy metals from urban waste waters. Given the low cost, high abundance, easy availability, long storage and high biosorption potential of the vegetable sponge Luffa cylindrica, this study aimed to immobilize Aspergillus niger on vegetable sponge to develop low cost bio-sorbent and optimize the environmental conditions for removal of Zinc (II) from aqueous solutions. The conditions evaluated in this study were pH, incubation temperature, incubation time, heavy metal ion concentration and biosorbent weight. The optimal biosorbent wet weight for maximum biosorption (97.5%) was 0.5 g. The maximum biosorption (97.37%) was observed at pH 2.5. The optimal temperature to give maximum bio-sorption rate (97.12%) was 25 degrees C. The maximum biosorption rate (95.5%) was observed at metal concentration 2 mg/L. Analysis of the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer indicated that the biosorbent has a great potential to eliminate Zinc (II) from aqueous solutions contributing to an eco-friendly technology for bioremediation in natural environment.