Biosorption Potential of Inactive Fomitopsis pinicola Biomass for the Removal of Methylene Blue from Model Solutions

Potencijal aktivne i inaktivne biomase različitih mikroorganizama kao adsorbensa (biosorbensa) za uklanjanje onečišćujućih tvari poput teških metala, sintetskih bojila, fenolnih spojeva, pesticida, intenzivno se istražuje. Ljekovite gljive predstavljaju izvor vrijednih biološki aktivnih spojeva, koje se ekstrahiraju iz plodišta gljiva odgovarajućim otapalima. Nakon ekstrakcije zaostaje inaktivna ekstrahirana biomasa gljive u obliku filtarskog kolača. Cilj rada bio je istražiti biosorpcijski potencijal ekstrahirane inaktivne biomase gljive Fomitopsis pinicola za uklanjanje sintetskog bojila metilenskog modrila iz modelnih vodenih otopina. Istražena je učinkovitost uklanjanja metilenskog modrila u ovisnosti o koncentraciji biosorbensa (0,4 g/L do 5 g/L), vremenu biosorpcije (1 min do 240 min), početnoj koncentraciji bojila (10 mg/L do 150 mg/L) te pH (4-10) vrijednosti modelnih otopina bojila. Postotak uklanjanja bojila povećavao se povećanjem masene koncentracije biosorbensa te produljenjem vremena kontakta između biosorbensa i adsorbata. Povećanje početne masene koncentracije bojila rezultiralo je smanjenjem postotka uklanjanja bojila, ali i povećanjem adsorpcijskog kapaciteta. Učinkovitost biosorpcije bila je najveća pri pH vrijednosti 10, dok je najmanja bila pri pH 4. Analiza eksperimentalno dobivenih podataka primjenom Freundlichova i Langmuirova ravnotežnog adsorpcijskog modela pokazala je kako oba modela dobro opisuju proces biosorpcije metilenskog modrila na inaktivnu biomasu F. pinicola. Rezultati ukazuju na veliki potencijal ekstrahirane inaktivne biomase ljekovite gljive F. pinicola za primjenu u remedijaciji otpadnih voda onečišćenih sintetskim bojilima.The potential of active and inactive biomass of various microorganisms as adsorbents (biosorbents) to remove pollutants such as heavy metals, synthetic dyes, phenolic compounds, and pesticides is being intensively studied. Medicinal mushrooms are a source of valuable biologically active compounds, which are extracted from the fruiting bodies of the mushrooms using suitable solvents. After extraction, the inactive extracted fungal biomass remains in the form of a filter cake. The aim of this study was to investigate the biosorption potential of the extracted inactive biomass of the fungus Fomitopsis pinicola for the removal of the synthetic dye methylene blue from aqueous model solutions. The effect of biosorbent concentration (0.4 g / L to 5 g / L), biosorption time (1 min to 240 min), initial dye concentration (10 mg / L to 150 mg / L), and pH values (4-10) of model dye solutions on the removal of methylene blue was studied.The percentage of dye removal increased as the mass concentration of the biosorbent increased and the contact time between the biosorbent and adsorbate increased. Increasing the initial mass concentration of the dye resulted in a decrease in the percentage of dye removal, but also increased the adsorption capacity. The biosorption efficiency was highest at a pH of 10, while it was lowest at a pH of 4. Analysis of the experimentally obtained data using the Freundlich and Langmuir equilibrium adsorption models showed that both models described well the process of methylene blue biosorption on inactive F. pinicola biomass. The results suggest that the extracted inactive biomass of the medicinal fungus F. pinicola has great potential for the remediation of wastewater contaminated with synthetic dyes