Influence of an aerobic selector on copper and hexavalent chromium biosorption by activated sludge

Abstract

The influence of an aerobic selector on biosorption of Cu and Cr(VI) by activated sludge was studied. In-vitro batch adsorption tests were performed using sludge harvested from bench-scale activated sludge systems. Metal biosorption by activated sludge was rapid with equilibrium usually reached within an hour. Adsorption behaviour closely followed a Freundlich isotherm model. Experimental data suggested that an aerobic selector increased the biosorption of the metal ions by activated sludge, confirming observations by others in a similar study but with different heavy metals. Freundlich isotherms indicated that the biosorption capacity of activated sludge was increased by 15% for Cu and 30% for Cr(VI). Activated sludge from both systems had a greater biosorption capacity for Cu than for Cr(VI). The effects of pH and sludge concentration were also investigated. The results indicate that these parameters may influence the biosorption characteristics of activated sludge.