Arsenic removal in an iron oxide-coated fungal biomass column: analysis of breakthrough curves.

Column studies were conducted, using iron oxide-coated Aspergillus niger biomass, to examine the removal of arsenic [As(III) and As(V)] from an aqueous solution. The Thomas and Yan models were examined to predict the breakthrough curves. The Yan Model described the data better (based on the R(2) values) when compared with the Thomas Model. The adsorption capacity of the iron oxide-coated biomass estimated by the Thomas Model {1070 microg/g for As(V) and 700 microg/g for As(III)} was comparable to the calculated value of its adsorption capacity {1080 microg/g for As(V) and 880 microg/g for As(III)}.