Biosorption of Cu(II) by natural biofilm matrix of Lahor Reservoirs, Indonesia

Heavy metal pollution is a severe problem in aquatic ecosystems. Various technologies have been developed to overcome the problems. One of the proposed technologies is biosorption. The success rate of biosorption is largely determined by the selection of biosorbent. The biosorbent should have a high capacity to adsorb the contaminant as well as environmentally friendly. One of the alternative biosorbent in the biofilm matrix. This study analyzes the biosorption characteristics of CuII, as one of the common pollutant s in the aquatic ecosystem, by biofilm matrix collected from Lahor Reservoirs in East Java, Indonesia. The kinetics of adsorption investigation in this study show that the biosorption of CuII by the biofilm matrix reached the equilibrium state within 5 minutes. The adsorption isotherm investigation revealed that the biosorption of CuII to the biofilm matrix fitted well to the Langmuir Isotherm model. The maximum adsorption amount Nmax of CuII by biofilm is around 33.3 mmol/gram, and the adsorption equilibrium constant is 0.03 L/mmol. According to the result of this study, the biofilm matrix has the potentiality to become biosorbent in the treatment of heavy metal pollution in the aquatic ecosystem.