Preparation and Characterisation of Corncob-Based Biosorbents in Côte d’Ivoire

This study focuses on the preparation of corncob-based biosorbents. The chemical impregnation method was used to vary the chemical agent namely phosphoric acid H3PO4 (BA) and sodium hydroxide NaOH (BB). The physicochemical analysis of the two biosorbents indicated that under the same preparation conditions, the bio-sorbents have after activation yields lower than 50% (24.37% for BB and 49.09% for BA). In addition, the biosorbents have iodine index values between 444.17 mg/g and 418.79 mg/g and specific surfaces related to the adsorption of methylene blue ranging from 18.54 m2/g to 19.70 m2/g. The study of surface functional groups by using the Boehm test and pH zero point charge (pHPZC) confirmed the acidic nature of BA and BB biosorbents with respective values pHPZC = 4.01 and pHPZC = 4.90. The Langmuir method and BET analysis determined the specific surface areas by liquid phase adsorption of methylene blue as well as the porosity. The BET surface areas of BA and BB obtained are 72.01 m2/g and 63.10 m2/g respectively. The influence of the chemical activating agent on the formation of pores was confirmed by electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. From this study, it is found that the best activating agent for corn cobs was found to be phosphoric acid because the BA biosorbent was revealed to be the most favourable due to its surface area and good pore volume which are high compared to sodium hydroxide NaOH. Moreover, their application as adsorbent for effluent treatment could be explored.

Optimized Adsorption of Small and Medium Molecules by a Biosorbent Based on Hevea Hulls

In the context of the recovery of agricultural waste, many researches have focused on the preparation of adsorbents from natural waste from fruit trees, egg shells, palm waste or sawdust. This work aims to optimize the preparation of a biosorbent from rubber hulls by studying its ability to adsorb small and medium molecules. The influence of parameters such as drying temperature (X1), particle size (X2), stirring time (X3) and sodium hypochloride mass (X4) was studied. The results indicate that the model used for biosorbent optimization on methylene blue and iodine index is significant. In addition, this model has greater adsorption capabilities on small molecules than with large molecules. Statistical analysis of the data shows that temperature is the most influential factor in the adsorption of small molecules. On the other hand, particle size has a significant influence on the adsorption of large molecules. The optimum biosorbent preparation values are 1.0 for drying temperature (X1), −1.0 for biosorbent grain size (X2), 1.0 for stirring time (X3) and 1.0 for sodium hypochloride mass (X4).

Understanding association between methylene blue dye and biosorbent: Palmyrah sprout casing in adsorption process in aqueous phase

Water pollution caused by industrial dyes has become a severe problem in the modern world. Biosorbents can be used in an eco-friendly manner to remove industrial dyes. In this study, five biosorbents were selected: palmyrah sprout casing (PSC), manioc peel, lime peel, king coconut husk, and coconut kernel. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to identify the best biosorbent with the highest ability to adsorb methylene blue (MB) from wastewater. The detailed mechanisms of PSC used in the adsorptive removal of MB in aqueous phase were investigated. Of the five biosorbents, PSC exhibited the best removal performance with an adsorption capacity at equilibrium (qe) of 27.67 mg/g. The qe values of lime peel, king coconut husk, manioc peel, and coconut kernel were 24.25 mg/g, 15.29 mg/g, 10.84 mg/g, and 7.06 mg/g, respectively. To explain the mechanisms of MB adsorption with the selected biosorbents, the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were performed to characterize functional properties, and isotherm, kinetic, rate-limiting, and thermodynamic analyses were conducted. The FTIR analysis revealed that different biosorbents had different functional properties on their adsorptive surfaces. The FTIR and XRD results obtained before and after MB adsorption with PSC indicated that the surface functional groups of carbonyl and hydroxyl actively participated in the removal process. According to the isotherm analysis, monolayer adsorption was observed with the Langmuir model with a determination coefficient of 0.998. The duration to reach the maximum adsorption capacity for MB adsorption with PSC was 120 min, and the adsorption process was exothermic due to the negative enthalpy change (-9.950 kJ/mol). Moreover, the boundary layer thickness and intraparticle diffusion were the rate-limiting factors in the adsorption process. As a new biosorbent for MB adsorption, PSC could be used in activated carbon production to enhance the performance of dye removal.

Production and Characterization of Green Biosorbent Based on Modified Corn Cob Decorated Magnetite Nanoparticles

In most developing countries, particularly in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, corn cobs are considered as waste polluting the environment during the harvest period of this cereal. In order to valorize this agricultural waste, high-performance, inexpensive and low-energy consumption magnetic bioadsorbents were prepared from corn cobs. The chemically activated raw corn cob was magnetized by coating the surface with magnetite nanoparticles. The prepared biosorbents were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, FE-SEM associated with EDX, HR-TEM, TG analysis, BET surface area analysis and XPS. The maximum specific surface area of 35.22 m2/g was reached. An attempt to use of these magnetic biosorbents for the removal of heavy metal like Cr(VI) from aqueous solution was envisaged.

Removal of Heavy Metal Ions from Wastewater by Using Biosorbents from Marine Algae-A Cost Effective New Technology

Heavy metal pollution from industrial wastewater is a worldwide environmental issue. Biosorption of heavy metals by using biosorbents derived from various types of biomass has been shown to be effective for the uptake of heavy metal ions. In this study, biosorbents derived from the biomass of a group of marine macroalgae were used for the removal and recovery of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions. Results indicated that the biosorbents have high uptake capacities and affinities for a number of heavy metal ions. The uptake capacities of the biosorbents were in the range of 1.0 to 1.5mmol·g-1 for divalent heavy metal ions. The kinetics of the uptake process was fast and the process can be used in both batch and fixed-bed operations. It appears that the biosorption process by using biosorbents from marine macroalgae can be an efficient and cost effective technology for the treatment of heavy metal containing wastewater.

Assessment of Sericin Biosorbent for Selective Dye Removal

The silk sericin is the main residue in silk production and it is found to be a low cost and efficient bio-sorbent. In this study, sericin was characterized with various techniques including SEM （scanning electron micro- scope）, XRD, N2 physisorption, FTIR （Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy） and XPS （X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy）. The nitrogen content of sericin was ca. 8.5 mmol.g-1 according to elemental analysis. Dye adsorption by sericin biosorbent was investigated with the acid yellow （AY）, methylene blue （MB） and copper （II） phthalocyanine-3,4＇4＂4＇＂-tetrasulfonic acid （CuPc） dyes from water. Sericin displayed large capacity for AY andCuPc adsorption with adsorption capacities of respectively 3.1 and 0.35 mmol.g-1, but it did not adsorbed methyl- ene blue dye. This selectivity is due to the basicity of amide groups in seriein biosorbents.

Influence of Temperature on Equilibrium, Kinetic and Thermodynamic Parameters of Biosorption of Cr(VI) onto Fish Scales as Suitable Biosorbent

In this work the potential of fish scales as a suitable biosorbent for removal of Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solutions was investigated at various temperatures. The influence of temperature on equilibrium, kinetics as well as thermodynamic parameters was investigated. Various isotherm models such as Langmuir, Freundlich, R - P, D - R, Temkin and Halsey were used for the mathematical description of the biosorption of Cr(VI) ions onto fish scales. It was observed that Freundlich model exhibited the best fit to experimental data. Amongst the various kinetic models tested, the pseudo-first-order kinetic model represented the best correlation for the biosorption of Cr(VI) onto fish scales at various temperatures. In addition, various thermodynamic parameters such as ?Go, ?Ho and ?So were also determined. The biosorption of Cr(VI) was found to be a spontaneous and endothermic process.

Valorization of Mango Peels as Low-Cost Biosorbent in Methylene Blue Adsorption:Kinetic and Equilibrium Study

Mango peels,which constitute a significant proportion of urban waste,have been modified with phosphoric acid for use as a biosorbent in the removal of methylene blue from wastewater.The characterization of the obtained biosorbent showed that cellulose is the primary constituent followed by lignin and hemicellulose.The high water content and the low value of ash content indicate that the studied biosorbent is a porous material containing a low proportion of inorganic,inert,amorphous and unusable part for biosorbent production.The zero charge point(pHpzc)assessment showed that the overall surface charge of the biosorbent is negative and therefore plays a key role in the adsorption process.The adsorption of methylene blue by mango peels biosorbent is a two-step process:a rapid first step in which over 90%methylene blue is removed in less than 10 min followed by a slowdown of the adsorption rate when approaching the adsorption equilibrium.Among pseudo-first,pseudo-second order and intraparticle diffusion kinetics models studies,pseudo-second order was the best applicable to describe methylene blue adsorption,suggesting a two-step mechanism:the transfer of methylene blue molecules from the solution to the mango peels biosorbent surface,followed by the interaction between adsorbates and surface.The equilibrium adsorption data were analyzed by Langmuir,Freundlich and Temkin isotherms models.Among them,Langmuir was the best model to describe adsorption,indicating the existence of homogeneous distribution of adsorption sites on mango peels biosorbent surface and a mono-layer adsorption of methylene blue molecules.The low value of Temkin’s constant B relative to the interaction energy between methylene blue molecules and the surface of the biosorbent shows that the adsorption involved is a physisorption process.

Sorption characteristics and mechanisms of organic contaminant to carbonaceous biosorbents in aqueous solution

A series of carbonaceous biosorbents was prepared by pyrolyzing pine needles, a model biomass, at various temperatures (100–700°C) under an oxygen-limited condition for 6 h. The elemental compositions and the specific surface areas (BET-N2) of the biosorbents were analyzed. Sorption properties of 4-nitrotoluene to the biosorbents and their mechanisms were investigated, and then correlated with the structures of the biosorbents. The result shows that with the increase of the pyrolytic temperature, the aromaticity of the carbonaceous biosorbents increases dramatically and the polarity (the (N+O)/C atomic ratio) decreases sharply. Correspondingly, conformations of the organic matter in the biosorbents transform gradually from a “soft-state” to a “hard-state” and the specific surface areas of the resultant biosorbents extend rapidly. The sorption isotherms fit well with the Freundlich equation. The regression parameters (i.e., N and IgK f) are linearly related to the aromaticity indices (the H/C atomic ratio). Contributions of adsorption and partition to total sorption of the carbonaceous biosorbents are quantified. The adsorption of the carbonaceous biosorbents increases quickly with the increase of the pyrolytic temperature. The saturated adsorption amounts (Q max) increase linearly with the increase of the specific surface areas (SA) of the biosorbents. For the carbonaceous biosorbents with hard-state carbon, the calculated normalized-Q max values by SA are comparable to the theoretical estimation (2.45 μmol/m2). In comparison, for the carbonaceous sorbents with soft-state carbon, the calculated normalized-Q max values by SA are much higher than the theoretical estimation. The partition coefficients (K om) increase with the decrease of the polarity of the biosorbents, reaching a maximum, and then decrease sharply with further decreasing the polarity, suggesting that partition mechanism be dominated by the compatibility and accessibility of the sorbent medium with organic pollutant. These observations will provide a theoretical and practical reference to design a cost-effective and high-efficient sorbent, and to accurately predict sorption properties and mechanisms of a given sorbent.

Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from aqueous solution by raw and modified plant residue materials as biosorbents

Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs）, e.g., naphthalene, acenaphthene, phenanthrene and pyrene, from aqueous solution by raw and modified plant residues was investigated to develop low cost biosorbents for organic pollutant abatement. Bamboo wood, pine wood, pine needles and pine bark were selected as plant residues, and acid hydrolysis was used as an easily modification method. The raw and modified biosorbents were characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The sorption isotherms of PAHs to raw biosorbents were apparently linear, and were dominated by a partitioning process. In comparison, the isotherms of the hydrolyzed biosorbents displayed nonlinearity, which was controlled by partitioning and the specific interaction mechanism. The sorpfion kinetic curves of PAHs to the raw and modified plant residues fit well with the pseudo second-order kinetics model. The sorption rates were faster for the raw biosorbents than the corresponding hydrolyzed biosorbents, which was attributed to the latter having more condensed domains （i.e., exposed aromatic core）. By the consumption of the amorphous cellulose component under acid hydrolysis, the sorption capability of the hydrolyzed biosorbents was notably enhanced, i.e., 6-18 fold for phenanthrene, 6-8 fold for naphthalene and pyrene and 5-8 fold for acenaphthene. The sorpfion coefficients （Kd） were negatively correlated with the polarity index [（O＋N）/C], and positively correlated with the aromaticity of the biosorbents. For a given biosorbent, a positive linear correlation between logKoc and logKow for different PAHs was observed. Interestingly, the linear plots of logKoc-logKow were parallel for different biosorbents. These observations suggest that the raw and modified plant residues have great potential as biosorbents to remove PAHs from wastewater.

New insight into adsorption characteristics and mechanisms of the biosorbent from waste activated sludge for heavy metals

The adsorption characteristics and mechanisms of the biosorbent from waste activated sludge were investigated by adsorbing Pb2＋and Zn2＋in aqueous single-metal solutions. A p H value of the metal solutions at 6.0 was beneficial to the high adsorption quantity of the biosorbent. The optimal mass ratio of the biosorbent to metal ions was found to be 2. A higher adsorption quantity of the biosorbent was achieved by keeping the reaction temperature below 55°C. Response surface methodology was applied to optimize the biosorption processes, and the developed mathematical equations showed high determination coefficients（above 0.99 for both metal ions） and insignificant lack of fit（p = 0.0838 and 0.0782 for Pb2＋and Zn2＋, respectively）. Atomic force microscopy analyses suggested that the metal elements were adsorbed onto the biosorbent surface via electrostatic interaction. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses indicated the presence of complexation（between –NH2,-CN and metal ions） and ion-exchange（between –COOH and metal ions）. The adsorption mechanisms could be the combined action of electrostatic interaction, complexation and ion-exchange between functional groups and metal ions.

Nanomaterial-based biosorbents:Adsorbent for efficient removal of selected organic pollutants from industrial wastewater

The contamination of the environment by organic pollutants is a major risk factor,particularly for developing countries.Selected organic pollutants(SOPs)like the phenolic compounds,polyaromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs),pesticides,and herbicides pose serious environmental and health issues owing to their toxic characteristics and poor degradability.Apart from their potential mutagenicity,carcinogenicity,tetragenicity and high body accumulation,these pollutants have become an increase concern worldwide.Biosorption is a promising alternative strategy for removing organic pollutants during water purification processes.Biosorbents have several advantages such as simplicity of operation,good sorption capacity,high recoverability and modifiability.As a result,the focus and novelty of this review is on recent trends in the use of biosorbents,with a particular emphasis on the removal of SOPs from wastewater.It also cover use of bacteria biosorbents,fungal,algae and chitosan/chitin biosorbents.Apart from that,we have also reviewed various classes of SOPs,their levels in the environment,classification and available characteristics techniques suitable for the adsorption experiments of these nanocomposites materials.In addition,we have provided comprehensive explanations and conclusions on possible future application of biosorbents and the mechanism of adsorption of these materials for removal of these SOPs from wastewater during water purification processes.

Biosorption of cadmium(Ⅱ) from aqueous solutions by industrial fungus Rhizopus cohnii

An important filamentous industrial fungus,Rhizopus cohnii(R.cohnii),was used as an efficient biosorbent for removing cadmium from wastewater.The sorption conditions,such as pH,the dose of biomass and the initial concentration of cadmium were examined.Two kinds of adsorption models were applied to simulate the biosorption data.The uptake of cadmium was higher in weak acid condition than in strong acid condition.Nearly no sorption of cadmium occurred when the pH value was lower than 2.0. Biosorption isothermal data could be well simulated by both Langmuir and Freundlich models.Langmuir simulation of the biosorption showed that the maximum uptake of cadmium was 40.5 mg/g(0.36 mmol/g)in the optimal conditions,which was higher than many other adsorbents,including biosorbents and activated carbon.In addition,the reusability results showed that after five times of sorption and desorption process,the sorption capacity of R.cohnii could still maintain nearly 80%,confirming its practical application in cadmium treatment.Fourier transform infrared spectrum revealed that carboxyl,amino and hydroxyl groups on biosorbent R.cohnii surface were responsible for the biosorption of cadmium.

Adsorption characteristics of Cd(Ⅱ) and Ni(Ⅱ) from aqueous solution using succinylated hay

An environmentally friendly organic biosorbent was fabricated using hay by succinylation. Metallic cation adsorption tests were performed using synthetic nickel(Ⅱ) and cadmium(Ⅱ) solutions to simulate heavy-metal recovery from aqueous solution. The adsorption efficiency was greater than 98% for both cadmium and nickel ions when the biosorbent concentration was 5.0 g/L and the initial metal concentrations were 50 mg/L. The surface of the biosorbent was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to investigate the changes in the surface functional groups. The functional groups changed according to the surface treatment, resulting in an effective biosorbent. The kinetics of the metals adsorption revealed that the reactions are pseudo-second order, and the adsorption isotherm well followed the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacities predicted by the Langmuir model were 75.19 mg/g and 57.77 mg/g for cadmium and nickel, respectively. The fabricated biosorbent was regenerated using Na Cl multiple times, with 2.1% for Cd and 4.0% for Ni in adsorption capacity after three regeneration cycles. The proposed biosorbent can be a good alternative to resin or other chemical adsorbents for heavy-metal recovery in metallurgical processing or municipal water treatment.

Microcosm Study： Effect of Fe（II） Addition in Sawdust for Phosphorous Recovery from Eutrophic Aquatic Ecosystems

The recovery of phosphorus in eutrophic water bodies adsorption in sawdust can be promoted by Fe（III） oxide-hydroxides is important to ensure water and food security, phosphorus biofllms. The main objective of this study was to analyze the influence of iron addition in sawdust on phosphorus adsorption. The microcosm experiment was performed with water and sediment samples from a eutrophic reservoir located in Barra Bonita/SP. Three control flasks （without bags） and 18 others as treatments （with two bags filled with sawdust, with or without previous Fe（II） addition） were assembled. The addition of iron did not promote greater phosphorus adsorption, the sawdust without previous iron addition had a total phosphorus concentration of 49μg·P·g^-1, while the sawdust with previous iron addition had 14.4μg.p.g^-1. The use of sawdust for the remediation of eutrophic water bodies is interesting, especially considering the low-cost and possibility of reuse as fertilizer in agriculture.

Adsorptive Removal of Heavy Metals from Aqueous Solution with Environmental Friendly Material—Exhausted Tea Leaves

In this study adsorptive removal of Pb(II) and Cu(II) from aqueous solution by using environmental friendly natural polymers present in exhausted tea leaves has been studied. The biosorbent was modified with dimethylamine to introduce N-functional groups on the surface of adsorbent. The modified adsorbent was characterized by elemental analysis, zeta potential analysis, SEM, DRFTIR, XRD and TG/DTA analysis to conform the modification. Adsorption capacity of the adsorbent was determined as the function of pH of the solution, initial concentration of the solution and contact time. The adsorption experiments were performed using batch experiments. The maximum adsorption capacities of the adsorbent were found to be 91.68 and 71.20 mg/g for Pb(II) and Cu(II), respectively. To minimize the process cost, regeneration of the biosorbent and recovery of metal ions was explored by desorption study. The results indicate that the adsorbent holds great potential for the sequestration of Pb(II) and Cu(II) from their aqueous solution. Hence the modified exhausted tea leaves (MTL) have been investigated as a new cost effective and efficient biosorbent for removal of Pb(II) and Cu(II) from their aqueous solution.

Fabrication and Characterisation of Novel Natural Lycopodium clavatum Sporopollenin Microcapsules Loaded In-Situ with Nano-Magnetic Humic Acid-Metal Complexes

Sporopollenin exines microcapsules, derived from the naturally occurring spores of Lycopodium clavatum, have been loaded in-situ with humic acid sodium salt-Zinc (HA-Zn) complex. The chemical treatment method utilised to prepare the sporopollenin microcapsules from raw spores was discussed and the resulted sporopollenin microcapsules were characterised using SEM, TGA and FTIR. Metal complexes of the sodium salt of humic acid and zinc ion were prepared using different protocols and in-situ loaded into the pre-treated sporopollenin microcapsules. The resulted complex was characterised before and after the encapsulation process using FTIR, TGA and XRD techniques. The morphology of the empty and loaded sporopollenin was not altered. Infrared spectroscopy revealed an increase in the absorption for COO– vibrations at 1583 and 1384 cm–1 in the FTIR spectra of HA-Zn complex compared to that of the original sodium salt of humic acid, indicative of bonding of the metal ions in hydrated form to the carboxyl or phenolic hydroxyl groups or both of the sodium humate molecules. TGA results of the HA-Zn complex loaded sporopollenin showed that around %15 of residual HA-Zn was successfully encapsulated indicative of the efficiency of the protocol used. We showed also that biodegradable magnetite nanoparticles can be surface modified with HA and encapsulated into sporopollenin. The resulted biosorbents microcapsules can be used for enhanced magnetic removal of either heavy metals or HA from different aqueous media.

Recovery of rare earth metals through biosorption: An overview

Rare earth metals （REMs） are a series of 17 elements that have widespread and unique applications in high technology, power generation, communications, and defense industries. These resources are also pivotal to emergent sustainable energy and car- bon alternative technologies. Recovery of REMs is interesting due to its high market prices along with various industrial applications. Conventional technologies, viz. precipitation, filtration, liquid-liquid extraction, solid-liquid extraction, ion exchange, super critical extraction, electrowinning, electrorefining, electroslag ref＇ming, etc., which have been developed for the recovery of REMs, are not economically attractive. Biosorption represents a biotechnological innovation as well as a cost effective excellent tool for the recovery of rare earth metals from aqueous solutions. A variety ofbiomaterials such as algae, fungi, bacteria, resin, activated carbon, etc., have been reported to serve as potential adsorbents for the recovery of REMs. The metal binding mechanisms, as well as the parameters in- fluencing the uptake of rare earth metals and isotherm modeling are presented here. This article provides an overview of past achievements and current scenario of the biosorption studies carried out using some promising biosorbents which could serve as an economical means for recovering REMs. The experimental findings reported by different workers will provide insights into this re- search frontier.

Preparation and application of iron oxide/persimmon tannin/graphene oxide nanocomposites for efficient adsorption of erbium from aqueous solution

Rare earth elements(REEs)are used for the developme nt of new energy materials owing to their intrinsic physicochemical property.However,excess REEs in water threaten the safety of animals,plants and humans.An efficient way to separate REEs from the water is therefore needed.In this study,a biosorbent consisting of iron oxide(Fe3 O4),persimmon tannin(PT),and graphene oxide(GO)as Fe3 O4/PT/GO was prepared,and the adsorption of trivalent erbium(Er3+)ions from aqueous solution was investigated.The adsorption process for Er3+ions conforms to pseudo-second order kinetic and the Langmuir isotherm model behavior.Thermodynamic studies indicate that the adsorption process is spontaneous and endothermic.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),X-ray diffraction(XRD),thermogravimetric analysis(TGA).Fourier-transform infrared(FT-IR)spectroscopy;Brunauer-Emmett-Teller(BET)analysis,and vibrating sample magnetometer(VSM)were used to assess the adsorption mechanism of Er3+ions onto the Fe3 O4/PT/GO biosorbent.A combination of electrostatic interactions,redox reactivity and chelation are responsible for adsorption of Er3+ions on the Fe3 O4/PT/GO biosorbent,The magnetic Fe3 O4/PT/GO biosorbent can be easily separated under the magnetic field for effective recycle of Er3+ions from aqueous solution.Therefore,this new biomass composite holds great promise for wastewater treatment.

The biosorption of Cr（VI） ions by dried biomass obtained from a chromium-resistant bacterium

The biosorption potential of many different kinds of biomaterials has been widely studied. However, there is little data on the biosorption mechanism of Cr（VI） by dried biomass. So the bio-removal of Cr（VI） ions from aqueous solutions was investigated using dried biomass from a chromium-resistant bacterium. The bacterium was isolated from dewatered sludge samples that were obtained from a sewage treatment plant. Equilibrium and kinetic experiments were performed at different metal concentra- tions, pH values, and biosorbents dosages. The biomass was characterized using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The functional groups in the Bacillus cereus biomass which may play a role in the biosorption process were identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The biosorption process was found to be highly pH dependent and the optimum pH for the adsorption of Cr（VI） was 2.0：k0.3 at 30-4-2 ℃. The experimental data fit well with Langmuir and Freundlich models as well as a pseudo-second order kinetic model. The mechanism for the biosorption was also studied by fitting the kinetic data with an intra-particle diffusion model and a Boyd plot. External mass transfer was found to be the rate-determining step for the adsorption process. Biosorption could be an alternative mechanism besides bio-oxidation and bio-reduction for the bioremediation of heavy metals.