Selective Competitive Biosorption of Au(III) and Cu(II) in Binary Systems byMagnetospirillum gryphiswaldense

The biosorption of Au(III) and Cu(II) ions in both single and binary systems by Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense (MSR-1) was investigated. For comparison with the selective reinforced competitive biosorption process in a binary system, the experimental research first explored the biosorption of Au(III) and Cu(II) in a single system under various conditions. The biomass exhibited the highest single Au(III) and Cu(II) ion adsorption yields at room temperature (25°C), pH values of 2.5 and 5.0, respectively, and a biomass concentration of 10 g · L−1 (3.83 g · L−1, dry basis). The experimental data from the single component system for the two metallic ions fitted well to a Langmuir isotherm and a pseudo second-order kinetic models. In the Au(III)-Cu(II) binary system, the coexistence of Cu(II) cations promoted the adsorption of Au(III) within a certain range of ratios. A new sigmoidal Cu(II) biosorption isotherm was determined specifically to reveal the Cu(II) adsorption behavior in this case.