Biological Treatment of Industrial Wastewaters: a Fungal Approach

Abstract

Treatment of industrial wastewaters represents an actual and spread topic. In fact, the in-use techniques are not able to completely degrade all the pollutants, present in the effluents. At the moment, other approaches are under investigation, but they often have some drawbacks in terms of economical and environmental sustainability. A strain of Bjerkandera adusta MUT 2295, previously selected for its capability to degrade several industrial model dyes, has been tested towards real industrial wastewaters, coming from textile and pharmaceutical industries. The efficacy of the treatment was monitored, following the decolourisation percentage (DP) and the modification of other parameters as the chemical oxygen demand (COD). The effect of the fungal immobilisation on 4 inert supports was investigated in order to select the best one in terms of biomass production and enzymatic activity. The efficiency of the immobilized biomass was assessed toward a textile effluent, comparing it with a free-cell treatment.