Cadmium uptake by non-viable biomass from a marine brown alga Ecklonia radiata turn

Biomass of non-viable and dried brown marine algae Ecklonia radiata Turn. was used to examine its cadmium uptake capability. Twelve different pretreatments on the algal biomass were prepared. Among these pretreatments, the algal biomass, which treated with 0.1 M NaOH and kept in water bath (100°C, 18 h) followed by washing with distilled water and squeezing, showed the highest amount of cadmium uptake as 1634 ±195 mg/g dry biomass at pH 4.0 and 50°C. Ad-sorption temperatures and pH levels played some important role in cadmium uptake. However, cadmium uptake decreased dramatically at a lower pH than 4.0. Freundlich adsorption isotherm showed potent cadmium uptake capacity of the non-viable biomass. Pretreatments on the non-viable algal biomass shown in this study may enhance the cadmium removal in the industrial wastewater.