• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.46-56
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• 2013

Laboratory scale experiments to remove benzene in solution by using the bio-carrier composed of dead biomass have been performed. The immobilized bio-carrier with dead Bacillus drentensis sp. and polysulfone was manufactured as the biosorbent. Batch sorption experiments were performed with bio-carriers having various quantities of biomass and then, their removal efficiencies and uptake capacities were calculated. From results of batch experiments, 98.0% of the initial benzene (1 mg/L) in 1 liter of solution was removed by using 40 g of immobilized bio-carrier containing 5% biomass within 1 hour and the biosorption reaction reached in equilibrium within 2 hours. Benzene removal efficiency slightly increased (99.0 to $99.4%{\pm}0.05$) as the temperature increased from 15 to $35^{\circ}C$, suggesting that the temperature rarely affects on the removal efficiency of the bio-carrier. The removal efficiency changed under the different initial benzene concentration in solution and benzene removal efficiency of the bio-carrier increased with the increase of the initial benzene concentration (0.001 to 10 mg/L). More than 99.0% of benzene was removed from solution when the initial benzene concentration ranged from 1 to 10 mg/L. From results of fitting process for batch experimental data to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, the removal isotherms of benzene were more well fitted to Freundlich model ($r^2$=0.9242) rather than Langmuir model ($r^2$=0.7453). From the column experiment, the benzene removal efficiency maintained over 99.0% until 420 pore volumes of benzene solution (initial benzene concentration: 1 mg/L) were injected in the column packed with bio-carriers, investigating that the immobilized carrier containing Bacillus drentensis sp. and polysulfone is the outstanding biosorbent to remove benzene in solution.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.45-53
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• 2013

Biocarrier beads with dead biomass, Bacillus drentensis, immobilized in polymer polysulfone were synthesized to remove heavy metals from wastewater. To identify the sorption mechanisms and theoretical nature of underlying processes, a series of batch experiments were carried out to quantify the biosorption of Pb(II) and Cu(II) by the biocarrier beads. The parameters obtained from the thermodynamic analysis revealed that the biosorption of Pb(II) and Cu(II) by biomass immobilized in biocarrier beads was a spontaneous, irreversible, and physically-occurring adsorption phenomenon. Comparing batch experimental data to various adsorption isotherms confirmed that Koble-Corrigan and Langmuir isotherms well represented the biosorption equilibrium and the system likely occurred through monolayer sorption onto a homogeneous surface. The maximum adsorption capacities of the biocarrier beads for Pb(II) and Cu(II) were calculated as 0.3332 and 0.5598 mg/g, respectively. For the entire biosorption process, pseudo-second-order and Ritchie second-order kinetic models were observed to provide better descriptions for the biosorption kinetic data. Application of the intra-particle diffusion model showed that the intraparticle diffusion was not the rate-limiting step for the biosorption phenomena. Overall, the dead biomass immobilized in polysulfone biocarrier beads effectively removed metal ions and could be applied as a biosorbent in wastewater treatment.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.8-18
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• 2013

Biocarrier beads with dead biomass, Bacillus drentensis, immobilized in polymer polysulfone were synthesized to remove heavy metals from wastewater. To identify the sorption mechanisms and theoretical nature of underlying processes, a series of batch experiments were carried out and a mathematical model was developed to quantify the biosorption of Pb(II) by the biocarrier beads. A series of mass balance equations for representing mass transfer of metal sorbents in biocarrier beads and surrounding solution were established. Major model parameters such as external mass transfer coefficient and maximum sorption capacity, etc. were determined from pseudo-first-order kinetic models and Langmuir isotherm model based on kinetic and equilibrium experimental measurements. The model simulation displays reasonable representations of experimental data and implied that the proposed model can be applied to quantitative analysis on biosorption mechanisms by porous granular beads. The simulation results also confirms that the biosorption of heavy metal by the biocarrier beads largely depended on surface adsorption.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.529-542
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• 2020

The cesium (Cs) sorption characteristics of a bead-type polysulfone carrier contained HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal (3 - 5 mm in diameter) in water system were investigated and its Cs removal efficiency as an adsorbent from water was also identified by various laboratory experiments. From the results of batch sorption experiments, the bead-type polysulfone carrier with only 5% HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal (P-5NBC) represented the high Cs removal efficiency of 57.8% for 1 hour sorption time. The Cs removal efficiency of P-5NBC in water after 24 hours reaction maintained > 69% at a wide range of pH and temperature conditions, attesting to its applicability under various water systems. Batch sorption experiments were repeated for P-5NBC coated with two cultivated microorganisms (Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus drentensis), which were typical indigenous species inhabited in soil and groundwater. The Cs removal efficiency for two microorganisms coated polysulfone carrier (BP-5NBC) additionally increased by 19% and 18%, respectively, compared to that of only P-5NBC without microorganisms coated. The average Cs desorption rate of P-5NBC for 24 h was lower than 16%, showing the Cs was stably attached on HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal in so much as its long-term use. The maximum Cs sorption capacity (q_m) of P-5NBC calculated from the Langmuir isotherm model study was 60.9 mg/g, which was much higher than those of other adsorbents from previous studies for 1 h sorption time. The results of continuous column experiments showed that the P-5NBC coated with microorganisms packed in the column maintained > 80% of the Cs removal efficiency during 100 pore volumes flushing. It suggested that only 14.7 g of P-5NBC (only 0.75 g of HNO₃ treated bamboo charcoal included) can successfully clean-up 7.2 L of Cs contaminated water (the initial Cs concentration: 1 mg/L; the effluent concentration: < 0.2 mg/L). The present results suggested that the Cs contaminated water can be successfully cleaned up by using a small amount of the polysulfone carrier with HNO₃-treated bamboo charcoal.