Biosorption capacity for cadmium of brown seaweed Sargassum sinicola and S. lapazeanum in the Gulf of California

Abstract

Brown algae Sargassum sinicola and Sargassum lapazeanum were tested as cadmium biosorbents in coastal environments close to natural and enriched areas of phosphorite ore. Differences in the concentration of cadmium in these brown algae were found, reflecting the bioavailability of the metal ion in seawater at several sites. In the laboratory, maximum biosorption capacity (qmax) of cadmium by these nonliving algae was determined according to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm as 62.42±0.44 mg g−1 with the affinity constant (b) of 0.09 and 71.20±0.80 with b of 0.03 for S. sinicola and S. lapazeanum, respectively. Alginate yield was 19.16±1.52% and 12.7±1.31%, respectively. Although S. sinicola had far lower biosorption capacity than S. lapazeanum, the affinity for cadmium for S. sinicola makes this alga more suitable as a biosorbent because of its high qmax and large biomass on the eastern coast of the Baja California Peninsula. Sargassum biomass was estimated at 180,000 t, with S. sinicola contributing to over 70%.