Fungal treatment of bagasse based pulp and paper mill wastes

Aspergillus foetidus a fungus isolated in our laboratory was studied for its ability to remove colour, COD (chemical oxygen demand) and lignin from disserved bagasse lignin, raw black and alkali stage liquors in nutrient medium. Nearly 90-95% of the total initial colour was removed from growth medium containing 0.05 to 0.1% of Lignin or diluted black liquor or alkali liquor. Our investigations reveal that the decolourisation, lignolytic and COD removal processes occur principally during the exponential growth phase of the fungus with concomitant utilisation of the primary growth supporting substrate such as glucose. Simultaneous reduction in colour and lignin content of the samples indicate strong correlation between the decolourisation and lignolytic processes. Comparison of COD and colour removal rates in combination with the results obtained from our recent experiments relating to colour recovery from fungal biomass provide evidences for preferential bioadsorption of chromophoric pollutants. Preliminary results obtained with selected textile dyes indicate that the extended application of the Aspergillusfoetidus for treatment of textile mill and electroplating effluents is a good possibility.