BIOSORPTION OF TRIVALENT ARSENIC AT DIFFERENT PH AND DIFFERENT CONTACT TIME BY UNMODIFIED AND CHEMICALLY MODIFIED FUNGAL BIOMASS
- Jana Havranová - Department of Environmental Ecology and Landscape Management, Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Slovakia
- Slavomír Čerňanský - Department of Environmental Ecology and Landscape Management, Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Slovakia
- Available online in Detritus - In Press
- Pages
Released under All rights reserved
Copyright: © 2026 CISA Publisher
Abstract
The biosorption of As(III) from aqueous solutions by native and chemically modified biomass of Aspergillus clavatus and Neosartorya fischeri was investigated at pH 3, 4 and 5. Untreated A. clavatus exhibited substantially higher biosorption than N. fischeri, achieving a maximum As(III) removal of 32% compared with only 3.3%. Alkaline pretreatment with NaOH enhanced biosorption in both fungi, increasing the maximum removal efficiency to 54% and 30% for A. clavatus and N. fischeri, respectively. The highest biosorption efficiencies were obtained after FeCl₃ modification, reaching 81% for A. clavatus and 57% for N. fischeri. The results demonstrate that fungal species, solution pH and biomass modification significantly influence As(III) biosorption, with Fe-functionalized fungal biomass showing the greatest potential for arsenic removal.Keywords
Editorial History
- Received: 05 Jul 2026
- Accepted: 06 Oct 2026
- Available online: 12 Nov 2026
References
Alguacil, F.J., Robla, J.I., 2023. Arsenic and Biosorption. In: Arsenic in the Environment - Sources, Impacts and Remedies. IntechOpen.
DOI 10.5772/intechopen.1001315
Ankita, Sharma, N., 2026. Fungal-derived biosorbents for the Biosorption of Hg(II) and As(III) onto Agaricus bisporus and spent mushroom compost biomass: A comparative study. Surf. Interfaces. 80, 108195.
DOI 10.1016/j.surfin.2025.108195
Aryal, M., Ziagova, M., Liakopoulou-Kyriakides, M., 2010. Study on arsenic biosorption using Fe(III)-treated biomass of Staphylococcus xylosus. Chem. Eng. J. 162, 178-185.
DOI 10.1016/j.cej.2010.05.026
Ayele, A., Haile, S., Alemu, D., Kamaraj, M., 2021. Comparative Utilization of Dead and Live Fungal Biomass for the Removal of Heavy Metal: A Concise Review. Sci. World J. 5588111.
DOI 10.1155/2021/5588111
Aziz, K.H.H., Mustafa, F.S., Omer, K.M., Hama, S., Hamarawi, R.F., Rahman, K.O., 2023. Heavy metal pollution in the aquatic environment: efficient and low-cost removal approaches to eliminate their toxicity: a review. RSC Adv. 13, 17595.
DOI 10.1039/d3ra00723e
Bano, A., Hussain, J., Akbar, A., Mehmood, K., Anwar, M., Hasni, M.S., Ullah, S., Sajid, S., Ali, I., 2018. Biosorption of heavy metals by obligate halophilic fungi. Chemosphere 199, 218e222.
DOI 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.02.043
Barral-Fraga, L., Barral, M.T., MacNeill, K.L., Martina-Pieto, D., Morin, S., Rodríguez-Castro, M.C., Tuulaikhuu, B.-A., Guasch, H., 2020. Biotic and abiotic factors influencing arsenic biogeochemistry and toxicity in fluvial ecosystems: A review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 17, 2331.
DOI 10.3390/ijerph17072331
Benis, K.Z., Damuchali, A.M., McPhedran, K.N., Soltan, J., 2020. Treatment of aqueous arsenic – A review of biosorbent preparation methods. J. Environ. Manage. 273, 111126.
DOI 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111126
Cabral Pinto, Silva, M.M., da Silva, E.A.F., Marinho-Reis, A.P. 2017. The Cancer and Non-Cancer Risk of Santiago Island (Cape Verde) Population due to Potential Toxic Elements Exposure from Soils. Geosciences 7.
DOI 10.3390/geosciences7030078
Caixeta, A.L., da Silva, A.C.N., da Silva, S.K.S., Dias, M.C., Cholant, C.M., Volkmer, T.M., Missio, A.L., de Oliveira, A.D., Ferrer, M.M., Anwar, Y., Khan, S., 2025. Review: Sustainable Biosorbent and Biopolymeric Materials for Heavy Metal Adsorption—Advances, Challenges, and Perspectives. Materials 18, 4752.
DOI 10.3390/ma18204752
Campillo-Cora, C., Rodríguez-Seijo, A., Pérez-Rodríguez, P., Fernández-Calvino, D., Santás-Miguel, V., 2025. Effect of heavy metal pollution on soil microorganisms: Influence of soil physicochemical properties. A systematic review. Eur. J. Soil Biol. 124, 103706.
DOI 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2024.103706
Cárdenas-González, J.F., Acosta-Rodríguez, I., Téran-Figueroa, Y., Rodríguez-Pérez, A.S., 2017. Bioremoval of arsenic (V) from aqueous solutions by chemically modified fungal biomass. Bioremoval of arsenic (V) from aqueous solutions by chemically modified fungal biomass. 3 Biotech 7, 226.
DOI 10.1007/s13205-017-0868-5
Daraz, U., Li, Y., Ahmad, I., Iqbal, R., Ditta, A., 2023. Remediation technologies for acid mine drainage: Recent trends and future perspectives. Chemosphere 311, 137089
DOI 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137089
Dixit, S., Hering, J.G., 2003. Comparison of Arsenic(V) and Arsenic(III) Sorption onto Iron Oxide Minerals: Implications for Arsenic Mobility. Environ. Sci. Technol. 37, 4182-4189.
DOI 10.1021/es030309t
Fattorini, D., 2026. Arsenic Environmental Biogeochemistry. Environments 13, 335.
DOI 10.3390/environments13060335
Faria, M.C.S., Hott, R.C., dos Santos, M.J., Santos, M.S., Andrade, T.G., Bomfeti, C.A., Rocha, B.A., Barbosa, F., Rodrigues, J.L., 2023. Arsenic in Mining Areas: Environmental Contamination Routes. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 20, 4291.
DOI 10.3390/ijerph20054291
Flakova, R., Zenisova, Z., Sracek, O., Krcmar, D., Ondrejkova, I., Chovan, M., Lalinská, B., Fendekova, M., 2012. The behavior of arsenic and antimony at Pezinok mining site, southwestern part of the Slovak Republic. Environ. Earth Sci. 66, 1043-1057.
DOI 10.1007/s12665-011-1310-7
Fomina, M., Gadd, G.M., 2014. Biosorption: Current Perspectives on Concept, Definition and Application. Bioresour. Technol. 160, 3-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2013.12.102
Gadd, G.M., 2008. Biosorption: critical review of scientificrationale, environmental importanceand significance for pollution treatment. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 84, 13–28.
DOI 10.1002/jctb.199
Gaur, N., Kukreja, A., Yadav, M., Tiwari, A., 2018. Adsorptive removal of lead and arsenic from aqueous solution using soya bean as a novel biosorbent: equilibrium isotherm and thermal stability studies. Appl. Water Sci. 8.
DOI 10.1007/s13201-018-0743-5
Genchi, G., Lauria, G., Catalano, A., Carocci, A., Sinicropi, M.S., 2022. Arsenic: A Review on a Great Health Issue Worldwide. Appl. Sci. 12, 6184.
DOI 10.3390/app12126184
Gupta, V.K., Nayak, A., Agarwal, S., 2015. Bioadsorbents for remediation of heavy metals: Current status and their future prospects. Environ. Eng. Res. 20. http://dx.doi.org/10.4491/eer.2015.018
Huang, Y., Zhao, X., Wang, X., Gao, B., Oyama, K., Tokoro, C., Zhou, D., Gu, X., 2024. Insights on the contradiction between the affinity and capacity of ferrihydrite toward As(III) and As(V): Surface reaction revisited. Environ. Sci. Technol. 58, 15257-15267.
DOI 10.1021/acs.est.4c05795
Johnston, S.G., Bennett, W.W., Doriean, N., Hockmann, K., Karimian, N., Burton, E.D., 2020. Antimony and arsenic speciation, redox-cycling and contrasting mobility in a mining-impacted river system. Sci. Total Environ. 710, 136354.
DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136354
Kapoor, A., Viraraghavan, T., 1995. Fungal biosorption — an alternative treatment option for heavy metal bearing wastewaters: a review. Bioresour. Technol. 53, 195-206.
DOI 10.1016/0960-8524(95)00072-M
Khan, A.R., Mahmood–ul-Hassan, M., Ahmad, R., Munir, A., 2018. Arsenic (III) removal potential of natural and modified fungal biomass from aqueous solution. Int. J. Biosci. 12, 97-109. http://dx.doi.org/10.12692/ijb/12.3.97-109
Kleijburg, F.E.L., Safeer, A.A., Baldus, M., Wösten, H.A.B., 2023. Binding of micro-nutrients to the cell wall of the fungus Schizophyllum commune. Cell Surf. 10, 100108.
DOI 10.1016/j.tcsw.2023.100108
Kumar, A., Cabral-Pinto, M., Kumar, A., Kumar, M., Dinis, P.A., 2020. Estimation of Risk to the Eco-Environment and Human Health of Using Heavy Metals in the Uttarakhand Himalaya, India. Appl. Sci. 10, 7078.
DOI 10.3390/app10207078
Lee, M. J., Sheppard, D. C., 2016: Recent advances in the understanding of the Aspergillus fumigatus cell wall. J. Microbiol. 54, 232-242.
DOI 10.1007/s12275-016-6045-4
Mahamallik, P., Swain, R., 2023. A mini-review on arsenic remediation techniques from water and future trends. Water Sci. Technol. 87, 3108,
DOI 10.2166/wst.2023.190
Mandal, B.K., Suzuki, K.T., 2002. Arsenic round the world: a review. Talanta 58, 201–235.
DOI 10.1016/S0039-9140(02)00268-0
Mishra, S., Bharagava, R.N., More, N., Yadav, A., Zainith, S., Mani, S., Chowdary, P., 2019. Heavy Metal Contamination: An Alarming Threat to Environment and HumanHealth. Environmental Biotechnology: For Sustainable Future, 103–125.
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-7284-0_5
Mohan, D., Pittman, C.U., 2007. Arsenic removal from water/wastewater using adsorbents—A critical review. J. Hazard. Mater. 142, 1-53.
DOI 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2007.01.006
Oladimeji, T.E., Oyedemi, M., Emetere, M.E., Agboola, O., Adeoye, J.B., Odunlami, O.A., 2024. Review on the impact of heavy metals from industrial wastewater effluent and removal technologies. Heliyon 10, e40370.
DOI 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e40370
Osman, A.I., El-Monaem, E.M.A., Elgarahy, A.M., Aniagor, C.O., Hosny, M., Farghali, M., Rashad, E., Ejimofor, M.I., López-Maldonado, E.A., Ihara, I., Yap, P.-S., Rooney, S.W., Eltaweil, A.S., 2023. Methods to prepare biosorbents and magnetic sorbents for water treatment: a review. Environ. Chem. Lett. 21, 2337-2398.
DOI 10.1007/s10311-023-01603-4
Patel, K.S., Pandey, P.K., Martin-Ramos, P., Corns, W.T., Varol, S., Bhattacharya, P., Zhu, Y., 2023. A review on arsenic in the environment: contamination, mobility, sources, and exposure. RSC Adv. 13, 8803.
DOI 10.1039/d3ra00789h
Priya, A.K., Gnanasekaran, L., Dutta, K., Rajendran, S., Balakrishnan, D., Soto-Moscoso, M., 2022. Biosorption of heavy metals by microorganisms: Evaluation of different underlying mechanisms. Chemosphere 307, 135957
DOI 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135957
Qasem, N.A.A., Mohammed, R.H., Lawal, D.U., 2021. Removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater: a comprehensive and critical review. npj Clean Water 4.
DOI 10.1038/s41545-021-00127-0
Rajkumar, M., Sandhya, S., Prasad, M.N.V., Freitas, H., 2012. Perspectives of plant-associated microbes in heavy metal phytoremediation. Biotechnol. Adv. 30, 1562-1574.
DOI 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2012.04.011
Rahnemaie, R., Hiemstra, T., van Riemsdijk, W.H., 2006. Inner- and outer-sphere complexation of ions at the goethite–solution interface. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 297, 379–388.
DOI 10.1016/j.jcis.2005.11.003
Ramya, D., Kiruba, N.J.M., Thatheyus, A.J., 2021. Biosorption of heavy metals using fungal biosorbents – A review. In: Fungi Bio-Prospects in Sustainable Agriculture, Environment and Nano-Technology, Elsevier, 331-352.
DOI 10.1016/B978-0-12-821925-6.00015-0
Rouhollahi, F., Zamani, A., Karimi, K., Etesami, N., 2014. Enhancement of nickel biosorption on fungal biomass by enzymatic and alkali pretreatments. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 11, 1911-1918.
DOI 10.1007/s13762-014-0624-x
Sadiq, M., 1997. Arsenic chemistry in soils: An overview of thermodynamic predictions and field observations. Water Air Soil Pollut. 93, 117-136.
DOI 10.1007/BF02404751
Sar, T., Marchlewicz, A., Harirchi, S., Mantzouridou, F.T., Hosoglu, M.I., Akbas, M.Y., Hellwig, C., Taherzadeh, M.J., 2024. Resource recovery and treatment of wastewaters using filamentous fungi. Sci. Total Environ. 951, 175752.
DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175752
Sharma, V. K., Sohn, M., 2009. Aquatic arsenic: toxicity, speciation, transformations, and remediation. Environ. Int. 35, 743-759.
DOI 10.1016/j.envint.2009.01.005
Smedley, P.L., Kinninburgh, D.G., 2002. A review of the source, behaviour and distribution of arsenic in natural waters. Appl. Geochem. 17, 517-568.
DOI 10.1016/S0883-2927(02)00018-5
Souza, T.G.F., Ciminelli, V.S.T., 2023. Arsenic removal and fixation by iron (oxyhydr)oxides: What is new? Curr. Opin. Environ. Sci. Health 33, 100466. https://doi.org10.1016/j.coesh.2023.100466
Torres, E., 2020. Biosorption: A Review of the Latest Advances. Processes 8, 1584.
DOI 10.3390/pr8121584
Tripathi, A., Ranjan, M.R., Verma, D.K., Singh, Y., Shukla, S.K., Rajput, V.D., Minkina, T., Mishra, P.K., Garg, M.C., 2022. ANN GA based biosorption of As(III) from water through chemo tailored and iron impregnated fungal biofilter system. Sci. Rep. 12, 12414.
DOI 10.1038/s41598-022-14802-w
Verbuyst, B.R., Pakostova, E., Paktunc, D., Bain, J.G., Finfrock, Y.Z., Saurette, E.M., Ptacek, C.J., Blowes, D.W., 2024. Microbiological and geochemical characterization of As-bearing tailings and underlying sediments. J. Hazard. Mater. 466, 133554.
DOI 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133554
Verma, T., Maurya, A., Tripathi, M., Garg, S.K., 2017. Mycoremediation: an alternative treatment strategy for heavy metal-laden wastewater. Developments in Fungal Biology and Applied Mycology. Springer, Singapore, pp. 315-340.
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4768-8_17
Visciano, P., 2025. Arsenic in Water and Food: Toxicity and Human Exposure. Foods 14, 2229.
DOI 10.3390/foods14132229
Wang, J., Chen, C., 2009. Biosorbents for heavy metals removal and their future. Biotechnol. Adv. 27, 195-226.
DOI 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2008.11.002
Yu, T., Wang, X., Li, C., 2014. Removal of Antimony by FeCl3-Modified Granular-Activated Carbon in Aqueous Solution. J. Environ. Eng. 140.
DOI 10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.00007
Zamora-Ledezma, C., Negrete-Bolagay, D., Figueroa, F., Zamora-Ledezma, E., Ni, M., Alexis, F., Guerrero, V.H., 2021. Heavy metal water pollution: A fresh look about hazards, novel and conventional remediation methods. Environ. Technol. Innov. 22, 101504.
DOI 10.1016/j.eti.2021.101504