Fungal treatment of bagasse based pulp and paper mill wastes

摘要

Aspergillus foetidus a fungus isolated in our laboratory was studied for its ability to remove colour, COD (chemical oxygen demand) and lignin from dissolved bagasse lignin, raw black and alkali stage liquors in nutrient medium. Nearly 90-95/100 of the total initial colour was removed from growth medium containing 0.05 to 0.1/100 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.