Reactive dye biosorption properties of mucor plumbeus cells immobilized to waste biomass

In this study, a new composite biosorbent was prepared by immobilizing Mucor plumbeus cells on the waste biomass surface of the rose processing process by passive immobilization technique. The decolorization characteristics of the immobilized biosorbent for the RM49 dye were investigated over parameters such as pH, biomaterial dosage, contact time and flow rate. Lagergren's pseudo-first-order kinetic model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model were used for kinetic modelling. The equilibrium data of the decolorization process were evaluated with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. From the modeling studies, it was observed that the biosorption was compatible with the pseudo-second order kinetic model and the Freundlich isotherm model. The developed immobilized biosorbent was also evaluated in terms of breakthrough point, regeneration potential and synthetic wastewater decolorization performance. The material was characterized by IR analysis. The proposed immobilized biosorbent, which has a decolorization efficacy of more than 90% in both batch and continuous systems, is expected to be an effective and alternative for removing reactive dye from aqueous environments.