The ability of Cystoseira baccata algal biomass to remove Hg(II) from aqueous solutions is investigated. The mercury biosorption process is studied through batch experiments at 25 degrees C with regard to the influence of contact time, initial mercury concentration, solution pH, salinity and presence of several divalent cations. The acid-base properties of the alga are also studied, since they are related to the affinity for heavy metals. The studies of the pH effect on the metal uptake evidence a sharp increasing sorption up to a pH value around 7.0, which can be ascribed to changes both in the inorganic Hg(II) speciation and in the dissociation state of the acid algal sites. The sorption isotherms at constant pH show uptake values as high as 178 mg g(-1) (at pH 4.5) and 329 mg g(-1) (at pH 6.0). The studies of the salinity influence on the Hg(II) sorption capacity of the alga exhibit two opposite effects depending on the electrolyte added; an increase in concentration of nitrate salts (NaNO3, KNO3) slightly enhances the metal uptake, on the contrary, the addition of NaCl salt leads to a drop in the sorption. The addition of different divalent cations to the mercury solution, namely Ca2+, Mg2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, Pb2+ and Cu2+, reveals that their effect on the uptake process is negligible. Finally, the equilibrium sorption results are compared with predictions obtained from the application of a simple competitive chemical model, which involves a discrete proton binding constant and three additional constants for the binding of the main neutral inorganic Hg(II) complexes, Hg(Cl)2, HgOHCl and Hg(OH)2, to the algal surface sites.

Environmental Context. Conventional processes for the removal of heavy metals from wastewaters generally involves chemical precipitation of metals (changing the pH) followed by a period to allow the metal precipitates to settle and be separated. These processes are inefficient when the metals are at a low concentration and still demand handling and disposal of toxic metal sludges. An alternative method for heavy metal removal is adsorption onto a biological material, biosorption. The biological materials, including agricultural byproducts, bacteria, fungi, yeast, and algae, all which take up heavy metals in substantial quantities, are relatively inexpensive, widely available, and from renewable sources. However, biological materials are complex and the active mechanisms often unclear. Cadmium biosorption properties of nonliving, dried brown marine macroalga Fucus spiralis from Galician coast (northwest Spain) have been investigated. The biosorption capacity of the alga strongly depends on solution pH; the uptake is almost negligible at pH ≤ 2 and reaches a plateau at around pH 4.0. Cadmium biosorption kinetics by F. spiralis is relatively fast, with 90% of total adsorption taking place in less than one hour. A pseudo second order mechanism has been proved to be able to predict the kinetic behaviour of the biosorption process. The effect of initial cadmium ion concentration, alga dose, solution pH, and temperature on the biosorption kinetics has been studied. The Langmuir, Freundlich, Langmuir–Freundlich, and Tóth isotherms were used to fit the experimental data and to find out the adsorption parameters. Acid–base properties of the alga have been studied potentiometrically in order to calculate the number of acidic groups and the apparent pK value by using Katchalsky model. The pK obtained is comparable with typical values associated to the ionization of carboxyl groups of alginates, supporting the implication of these groups in the biosorption process.