Uranium (VI) Biosorption on Marine Sponge, Sarcotragus foetidus (Schmidt, 1862) and Its Statistical Investigation Using Central Composite Design

The biosorption of heavy metals, radionuclides, uranium and thorium for the recovery or removal from aqueous systems using various micro-organisms and biological substances has been investigated by several groups of workers. In this paper, the uptake of uranium (VI) from aqueous systems by a marine sponge, Sarcotragus foetidus (Schmidt, 1862) has been investigated. S. foetidus samples were collected from Babakale/Ayvacik/Canakkale in Turkey. Uranium (VI) uptake experiments were carried out by the batch technique. The affecting parameters were analyzed using Central Composite Design (CCD) as the experimental method. Four independent variables such-pH, temperature, contact time, and initial uranium concentration were selected for this study. The influences of initial pH, contact time, and initial uranium concentration on the biosorption process were considered statistically significant as main effects. On the other hand, interaction effects of pH and contact time, as well as pH and initial uranium concentration, were considered as significant parameters on the biosorption process. The optimum condition of biosorption process was found to be at initial pH: 4, temperature: 35 degrees C, initial uranium concentration: 20 mg/L, and contact time: 31 minutes. At these conditions, the biosorption yield of uranium (VI) ions was obtained to be 93.29 +/- 2%.