Removal of pollutants by mycelium-colonized sawdust

Abstract

Slaughterhouses generate wastewater daily and often discharge it to the environment. Many lack wastewater treatment systems, due to such systems' typically high cost and technological demands. In this study, slaughterhouse wastewater was filtered through columns of mycelium – Pleurotus ostreatus – grown on sawdust substrates of different particle sizes. The columns' pollutant removal efficiencies were evaluated for color, turbidity, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen and total phosphorus. The best color (75%), BOD (88%) and total nitrogen (86%) removal efficiencies were recorded with 2.36 mm particle size and 9 cm depth. Electrical conductivity removal efficiency was best with 2.36 mm particle size but 3 cm bed depth. The study showed that particle size has a significant effect on physiochemical pollutant removal by mycelium-colonized sawdust systems. Highlights Mycelium was grown on sawdust of varying particle sizes.; The mycelium-colonized sawdust were evaluated for their removal efficiency at varying bed depths.; Sawdust of particle size 2.36 mm and bed height 9 cm significantly removed colour, BOD and total nitrogen from slaughterhouse wastewater.; Electrical conductivity was removed significantly by mycelium-colonized sawdust of particle size 2.36 mm and bed depth of 3 cm.;

Keywords

• particle size
• ramified
• removal efficiency
• slaughterhouse wastewater
• spawn