A two step optimization approach for maximizing biosorption of hexavalent chromium ions (Cr (VI)) using alginate immobilized Sargassum sp in a packed bed column

In the present study, we have demonstrated the application of two-step optimization strategy for hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) adsorption using Sargassum sp in a packed bed column. ANOVA showed that initial metal concentration has larger impact on sorption efficiency. Application of ANN-GA optimization showed promising results among the models tested. The biosorption efficiency accelerated to 90.79% with Cr (VI) conc = 25 mg L⁻¹, Bed height = 11.97 cm and Flow rate = 5.29 mL min⁻¹. The adsorption mechanism was described using kinetic models where Bed depth service time and Yoon–Nelson model showed a better fit for the experimental data with the correlation coefficient of 0.9.