In this study, the biosorption of nickel(II) ions on Enteromorpha prolifera, a green algae, was investigated in a batch system. The single and combined effects of operating parameters such as initial pH, temperature, initial metal ion concentration and biosorbent concentration on the biosorption of nickel(H) ions on E. prolifera were analyzed using response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum biosorption conditions were determined as initial pH 4.3, temperature 27 degrees C, biosorbent concentration 1.2 g/L and initial nickel(II) ion concentration 100 mg/L. At optimum biosorption conditions, the biosorption capacity of E. prolifera for nickel(II) ions was found to be 36.8 mg/g after 120 min biosorption. The Langmuix and Freundlich isotherm models were applied to the equilibrium data and defined very well both isotherm models. The monolayer coverage capacity of E. prolifera for nickel(II) ions was found as 65.7 mg/g. In order to examine the rate limiting step of nickel(II) biosorption, such as the mass transfer and chemical reaction kinetics, the intraparticle diffusion model, external diffusion model and the pseudo second order kinetic model were tested with the experimental data. It was found that for both contributes to the actual biosorption process. The pseudo second order kinetic model described the nickel(II) biosorption process with a good fitting. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.