Biosorptive Behavior of Aerobic Biomass Biofilm Supported on Clinoptilolite Zeolite for the Removal of Copper

The aim of this study was to determine the behavior of aerobic biomass biofilm supported on untreated clinoptilolite zeolite in the biosorption process to reduce the concentration of copper from synthetic solutions. A systematic study in batch and continuous systems was carried out. In addition, biomass and zeolite were characterized before and after biosorption treatment by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). According to results, zeolite only acts as a support for biomass and the study of SEM and EDS indicated that copper was absorbed by bacteria that are present on the surface of the zeolite. This study showed that untreated zeolite clinoptilolite acts as a support material for biomass during copper removal, and it may be an alternative of great interest for the immobilization of biomass in the restoration process of sites contaminated with heavy metals.