Fungal biomass as biosorbent for the removal of Acid Blue 161 dye in aqueous solution.

Physical and thermal treatment was used to inactivate Trametes sp. SC-10 fungus. The resulting biomass was named BTV, characterized by analytical techniques such as SEM, EDX, FTIR, BET, and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) model. pH, kinetic, and equilibrium adsorption studies with the Acid Blue 161 (AB-161) dye were investigated at 303.15 K. The kinetics of the biosorption process were examined at 600.00 and 1300 mg L-1, using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and Avrami fractional-order models. The maximum biosorption capacity of BTV for AB-161 dye was 221.6 mg g-1. Considering the biosorption data and the functional groups of BTV, it can be inferred that the sorption mechanism of AB-161 is regulated by electrostatic interactions between ionized dye molecules and negative charges on BTV in an aqueous solution. Finally, the BTV was tested with a simulated effluent with 89.47% efficiency, presenting the BTV as a biosorbent for real effluents polluted with dyes.