Removal of cadmium from polluted water by SiO₂ nanoparticles, immobilized and entrapped fungal biomasses / Rabab Hussein Ibrahim Hussein ; Supervised Tahany M. A. Abdelrahman , Mohsen Aboelela Saied , Eman Abdullah M. Ali

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Science - Department of Botany and Microbiology

Poor fungal variability was found in the two waste water sample obtained from the pools located in General Motors Factory and in Egyptian Plastic and Electricity plant. Penicillium chrysogenum and Cephalotheca foveolata were the only isolates screened in both samples with low counts. Molecular identification revealed that they are P. chrysogenum strain (EU 128624.1) and C. foveolata strain (KT 385713.1), with accession number MT664773 and MT664745 respectively. FTIR examination of SiO₂ nanoparticles and its combinations with fungal biomasses indicated that they have many absorbing groups in their surfaces with carboxyl group, amino group and amide group are dominant in all sorbent surfaces. SEM examination declared the close attachment between fungal surfaces and SiO2 nanoparticles. Optimization of the factors affecting sorption capacity of Cd(II) from aqueous solution indicated that the tested sorbent (N-Si, PEN, N-Si-PEN, CEP and N-Si-CEP) exhibited highest sorption capacity at pH 7, contact time 30 min and initial Cd²⁺ concentration 0.5 moll-1. Antagonistic effect was exerted by addition of any interfering ions with Cd²⁺. The same sorbents are able to adsorb Cd²⁺ from real waste water samples and the combined biosorbents being efficient than the single ones

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