To investigate the treatment effect of algae biosorbent on heavy metal wastewater, in this paper, the adsorption effect of M. aeruginosa powder on heavy metal ions copper, cadmium and nickel was investigated using the uniform experimental method, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and TG-DSC comprehensive thermal analysis. The experimental results showed that the initial concentration of copper ion solution was 25 mg/L, the temperature was 30 °C, the pH value was 8 and the adsorption time was 5 h, which was the best condition for the removal of copper ions by algae powder adsorption, and the removal rate was 83.24%. The initial concentration of cadmium ion solution was 5 mg/L, the temperature was 35 °C, the pH value was 8 and the adsorption time was 4 h, which was the best condition for the adsorption of cadmium ion by algae powder, and the removal rate was 92.00%. The initial nickel ion solution concentration of 15 mg/L, temperature of 35 °C, pH value of 7 and adsorption time of 1 h were the best conditions for the adsorption of nickel ions by algae powder, and the removal rate was 88.67%. The spatial structure of algae powder changed obviously before and after adsorbing heavy metals. The functional groups such as amino and phosphate groups on the cell wall of M. aeruginosa enhanced the adsorption effect of heavy metal ions copper, cadmium and nickel. Additionally, M. aeruginosa adsorption of heavy metal ions copper, cadmium, nickel is an exothermic process. The above experiments show that M. aeruginosa can be used as a biological adsorbent to remove heavy metals, which lays a theoretical foundation for the subsequent treatment of heavy metal pollution by algae.
Keywords: Microcystis aeruginosa; heavy metal; removal rate; structural analysis.