Phytoremediation of Lanthanum using Algae from Eutrophic Freshwater Sources.

Lanthanum (La) is one of the REM that has captured attention due to its unique properties and increased demand in industries. Lanthanum toxicity is currently considered low but continuous accumulation into the environment may cause health related problems. Biosorption studies using dead biomass have proven to be effective in the removal and recovery of metals. The algal samples were isolated using streak plating, identified using molecular methods and cultured in the laboratory. Equilibrium experiments were carried out with varying concentrations ranging from 15-150 mg/L. Chloroidium saccharophilum had the highest sorption capacity (qmax) of 129.87 mg/g and the lowest affinity (b) of 0.142 L/g for La. Chloroidium saccharophilum had a higher qmax than Desmodesmus multivariabilis but the later showed the highest b of 5 L/g as compared to all the tested algae. This implies that Desmodesmus multivariabilis was the best biosorbent with high a rate of removal and recovery for La.