EDXRF Analysis of Some Fungal Species for the Uptake Capacity of 28Ni, 48Cd, and 82Pb Metal Ions From Aqueous Solution

Abstract

In this paper, Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis of eight fungi species, namely, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus, Trichoderma longibrachiatum, Trichoderma fasciculatum, Penicillin Janthinellum, Aspergillus awamori, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, and Rhizopus arrhizus for the uptake capacity of ₂₈Ni, ₄₈Cd, and ₈₂Pb metals ions from aqueous solution have been reported. Fungal samples having superior ion removal capacity through bioaccumulation and biosorption were obtained from sites contaminated with heavy metals. The detection limit in EDXRF set up was improved considerably using selective absorbers in the path of incident photons from the X-ray tube to reduce the background in the desired energy region. It has been observed that all fungi species under present study have greater affinity for 82Pb ions as compared to ₂₈Ni and ₄₈Cd metal ions. The Trichoderma longibrachiatum and Trichoderma fasciculatum fungi species were identified to be more efficient for removal of heavy metal ions from waste water. The measured uptake capacity of Trichoderma longibrachiatumfor ₂₈Ni, ₄₈Cd, and ₈₂Pb ions from aqueous solution is 0.52 mg/g, 0.97 mg/g, and 6.4 mg/g, respectively, and for Trichoderma fasciculatum it is 0.43 mg/g, 0.79 mg/g, and 3.5 mg/g, respectively. This indicated the potential of these identified fungi species as biosorbent for removal of high metal ions from waste water and industrial effluents.