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Rare earth elements such as neodymium (Nd) are important elements used mainly in developing new technologies. Although they are found in low concentrations in nature, they can be obtained by extracting solid samples such as phosphogypsum. Among the techniques, adsorption has been used successfully with several adsorbent materials. In this work, two strains of Spirulina platensis (LEB-18 and LEB-52) were employed as biosorbents for efficiently removing the Nd element from the aqueous media. Biosorption tests were carried out in a batch system, and the results of the biosorption kinetics showed that for both materials, the biosorption of Nd was better described by the Avrami model. Moreover, it could be considered that 80 min would be necessary to attain the equilibrium of Nd(III) using both biosorbents. The result of the biosorption isotherms showed that for both strains, the best-fitted model was the Liu model, having a maximum biosorption capacity of 72.5 mg g−1 for LEB-18 and 48.2 mg g−1 for LEB-52 at a temperature of 298 K. Thermodynamics of adsorption showed that for both LEB-18 and LEB-52 the process was favorable (∆G° < 0) and exothermic (∆H° −23.2 for LEB-18 and ∆H° −19.9 for LEB-52). Finally, both strains were suitable to uptake Nd, and the better result of LEB-18 could be attributed to the high amount of P and S groups in this biomass. Based on the results, a mechanism of electrostatic attraction of Nd3+ and phosphate and sulfate groups of both strains of Spirulina platensis was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The powdered biomass of paddle cactus (Tacinga palmadora), a rustic plant of great occurrence in the driest regions of Brazil, was evaluated as a low-cost adsorbent to treat textile effluents containing crystal violet (CV) dye. The powdered paddle cactus (PPC) was mainly composed by lignin and holocellulose, as well as, a variety of functional groups. Best results for CV adsorption were found using an adsorbent dosage of 0.5 g L−1 at solution pH equivalent to 10.0. Fast adsorption kinetics was verified, being the equilibrium reached within 100 min, and the curves were well modeled by the pseudo-first-order model. The isotherms were well-represented by the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity was 228.74 mg g−1 at 328 K. The estimated thermodynamics parameters were ΔG0T = 328K of –9.08 kJ mol−1, ΔH0 of 12.44 kJ mol−1, and ΔS0 of 0.065 kJ mol−1 K−1. In addition, PPC was able to treat a simulated textile effluent containing organic and inorganic compounds, reaching 93% of color removal efficiency. These findings show that powdered paddle cactus can be applied as potential low-cost adsorbent to treat textile effluents containing CV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]