Biosorption of U(VI) by active and inactive Aspergillus niger: equilibrium, kinetic, thermodynamic and mechanistic analyses

In our study, a typically environmentally friendly biomaterial with different forms, Aspergillus niger, shows good biosorbent properties and potential industrial applications for the treatment of radioactive wastewater. Experimental data indicate that the Langmuir isotherm is applicable, with a maximum biosorption capacity of 50.65 mg/g for active and 83.40 mg/g for inactive fungi microspheres at a pH of 5. In addition to batch biosorption experiments, the sorption kinetics were studied and were fit with a pseudo-second-order model. Thus, the results illustrate that inactive A. niger is an attractive and promising biomaterial for efficient U(VI) removal from radioactive wastewater.