The removal of gold from solution by the viable microbial biomass Phomas sp

Abstract

Biomass of natural origin has been accepted as an alternative economical bioremediation agent for metal removal. The present study investigates the removal of gold(III) from dilute solutions utilising a purified fungal culture of Phoma sp. Optimal conditions in batch studies with biomass and gold concentrations of 3 mg/mL and 1 mg/L respectively,at pH 5, demonstrated a removal of 90% of gold(III) from solution at 25°C. Electron microscopy indicated that adsorption and/or absorption sites for gold by the fungi were not colonised. The presence of gold in the fungi was confirmed by Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy analysi

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