Adsorption characteristics of zinc-cyanide complexes by waste brewery biomass

Abstract

In this work, the removal of zinc-cyanide complexes using dead cells of brewery yeast obtained from a beer brewery was studied. The particle size, surface area, and pore radius of the biomass used in this study were 0.075 similar to 0.150 mm, 1.79 m(2)/g, and 21.1 Angstrom, respectively. The Langmuir isotherm represented the equilibrium data for the zinc ion very well, and the adsorption capacity for zinc ions was 2.3 mg/g at pH 12. The adsorption rate increased upon increasing the biomass concentration, and a first-order kinetic model represented our experimental data very well. The peaks in the FT-IR spectra of the biosorbent used for zinc adsorption were substantially lower than those of the raw biosorbent. This change of peak size can be interpreted as the result of weakened bond structure of the biomass that is due to the reaction between the zinc ions and the functional groups of the biomass.