BSTR, 2019, Vol 7, No 1, 24-28 - 24 - Isothermal Modelling on the Removal of Copper Using Durvillaea antarctica Shakirah Abd Wahab Sha'arani 1 , Nur Adeela Yasid 1 , Muhammad Arif Mukhriz Ros Saidon Khudri 2 , Mohd Yamin Shaari 1 , Mohd Yunus Abd Shukor 1 and Ahmad Razi Othman 2 * 1 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, D.E, Malaysia. 2 Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, D.E, Malaysia. *Corresponding author: Dr. Ahmad Razi Othman, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, D.E, Malaysia. Email: ahmadrazi@ukm.edu.my INTRODUCTION Copper (Cu) is abundant in the surroundings and required for the conventional growth and metabolic process of most living creatures. Irregular quantities of copper ingestion may range between quantities so little as to stimulate a dietary insufficiency to quantities excessive they can be extremely harmful. Copper is one of the first metals labored by people some seventy to eighty centuries in the past [1]. The first recognized item of hammered copper was discovered approximately 6000 BCE. The copper alloy brass originated in Roman periods. Copper stems from the Latin cuprum, which is a corruption of cyprium, Cyprus is the source of Egyptian and Roman copper [1]. The metabolic significance of copper in animals and plants had not been thought prior to the 1920’s when illnesses as a result of copper insufficiency turned to be acknowledged. Copper insufficiency in vertebrates, for instance, is associated to anemia, gastrointestinal disorder, aortic aneurisms, bone development irregularities, and death [2]. Toxicity to copper in terrestrial higher plants is uncommon but happens on mining areas and instances where copper-rich manures or fungicides are utilized exceedingly [3]. Copper is considered the most dangerous of the heavy metals in marine and freshwater ecology, and frequently builds up and results in irreparable damage to some species at levels merely over the quantities needed for growth and reproduction [4]. On the other hand, in comparison with lower forms, mammalians and birds are relatively not affected to copper [1]. Copper pollution in the recent years has only just began to take centre stage with several reports studying the effect of copper exposure to Antarctic organisms [5,6]. In anticipation of a copper pollution in the future in the Arctic and Antarctica, several remediation approach has been suggested with biosorption being one of the least destructive [7,8]. HISTORY Received: 7 th April 2019 Received in revised form: 27 th of June 2019 Accepted: 4 th of July 2019 ABSTRACT Heavy metals pollution in the Antarctica is emerging as an important problem due to anthropogenic activities. Bioremediation of metal pollution especially copper in Antarctica in the future using biosorption is the most environmental-friendly method. Biosorption using Durvillaea antarctica, an alga that lives in the Antarctic region does not involve the introduction of new potentially foreign species. In this study, the isotherms of copper biosorption by the alga is modelled according to various models ranging from one to five parameters models such as Henry, Langmuir, Dubinin-Radushkevich, Freundlich, BET, Toth, Sips, Fritz-Schlunder IV, Baudu and Fritz-Schlunder V. All gave visually acceptable fitting with the exception of the Henry model. Statistical analysis based on root-mean-square error (RMSE), adjusted coefficient of determination (adjR 2 ), bias factor (BF), accuracy factor (AF) and corrected AICc (Akaike Information Criterion) showed that the Sips model is the best model. The calculated Sips parameters kS value of 12.52 (95% confidence interval from 3.593 to 21.439), qmS value of 0.97 (95% confidence interval from 0.905 to 1.026) and nS value of 0.67 (95% confidence interval from 0.531 to 0.806). KEYWORDS biosorption Durvillaea antarctica isotherms copper Sips BIOREMEDIATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH Website: https://journal.hibiscuspublisher.com/index.php/BSTR BSTR VOL 7 NO 1 2019