Abstract
Dyes used in various industries are discharged into the environment and pose major environmental concern. In the present study, fungal isolate Aspergillus lentulus was utilized for the treatment of various dyes, dye mixtures and dye containing effluent in dual modes, bioaccumulation (employing growing biomass) and biosorption (employing pre-cultivated biomass). The effect of dye toxicity on the growth of the fungal isolate was studied through phase contrast and scanning electron microscopy. Dye biosorption was studied using first and second-order kinetic models. Effects of factors influencing adsorption and isotherm studies were also conducted. During bioaccumulation, good removal was obtained for anionic dyes (100 mg/l), viz. Acid Navy Blue, Fast Red A and Orange-HF dye (99.4 %, 98.8 % and 98.7 %, respectively) in 48 h. Cationic dyes (10 mg/l), viz. Rhodamine B and Methylene Blue, had low removal efficiency (80.3 % [48 h] and 92.7 % [144 h], respectively) as compared to anionic dyes. In addition to this, fungal isolate showed toxicity response towards Methylene Blue by producing larger aggregates of fungal pellets. To overcome the limitations of bioaccumulation, dye removal in biosorption mode was studied. In this mode, significant removal was observed for anionic (96.7–94.3 %) and cationic (35.4–90.9 %) dyes in 24 h. The removal of three anionic dyes and Rhodamine B followed first-order kinetic model whereas removal of Methylene Blue followed second-order kinetic model. Overall, fungal isolate could remove more than 90 % dye from different dye mixtures in bioaccumulation mode and more than 70 % dye in biosorption mode. Moreover, significant color removal from handmade paper unit effluent in bioaccumulation mode (86.4 %) as well as in biosorption mode (77.1 %) was obtained within 24 h. This study validates the potential of fungal isolate, A. lentulus, to be used as the primary organism for treating dye containing wastewater.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ali I, Gupta VK (2007) Advances in water treatment by adsorption technology. Nat Protoc 1:2661–2667
Ambrósio ST, Vilar Júnior JC, Alves da Silva CA, Okada K, Nascimento AE, Longo RL, Campos-Takaki GM (2012) A biosorption isotherm model for the removal of reactive azo dyes by inactivated mycelia of Cunninghamella elegans UCP542. Molecules 17:452–462
APHA, AWWA, WPCF (1989) Standard methods for the examination of water and waste water, 17th edn. Washington, DC
Bidisha C, Sreeranjani R, Shaik A, Chaudhari S, Sumathi S (2006) Bioaccumulation and biosorption of drimarene red dye by Aspergillus foetidus. Int J Environ Pollut 28:517–533
Chojnacka K (2010) Biosorption and bioaccumulation – the prospects for practical applications. Environ Int 36:299–307
Deive FJ, Domínguez A, Barrio T, Moscoso F, Morán P, Longo MA, Sanromán MA (2010) Decolorization of dye Reactive Black 5 by newly isolated thermophilic microorganisms from geothermal sites in Galicia (Spain). J Hazard Mater 182:735–742
Eichlerová I, Homolka L, Benada O, Kofroňová O, Hubálek T, Neruda F (2007) Decolorization of Orange G and Remazol Brilliant Blue R by the white rot fungus Dichomitus squalens: toxicological evaluation and morphological study. Chemosphere 69:795–802
Fan H, Yang JS, Gao TG, Yuan HL (2012) Removal of a low-molecular basic dye (Azure Blue) from aqueous solutions by a native biomass of a newly isolated Cladosporium sp.: kinetics, equilibrium and biosorption simulation. J Taiwan Inst Chem E 43:386–392
Freundlich H (1906) Adsorption in solution. Z Phys Chem 57:385–470
Gadd GM (2007) Geomycology: biogeochemical transformations of rocks, minerals, metals and radionuclides by fungi, bioweathering and bioremediation. Mycol Res 111:3–49
Gao J, Yu J, Lu Q, He X, Yang W, Li Y, Pu L, Yang Z (2008) Decoloration of alizarin red S in aqueous solution by glow discharge electrolysis. Dyes Pigments 76:47–52
Grainger S, Fu GY, Hall ER (2011) Biosorption of colour-imparting substances in biologically treated pulp mill effluent using Aspergillus niger fungal biomass. Water Air Soil Pollut 217:233–244
Gupta VK, Ali I (2004) Removal of lead and chromium from wastewater using bagasse fly ash — a sugar industry waste. J Colloid Interface Sci 271:321–328
Gupta VK, Rastogi A (2008) Sorption and desorption studies of chromium (VI) from nonviable cyano bacterium Nostoc muscorum biomass. J Hazard Mater 154:347–354
Gupta VK, Rastogi A (2009) Biosorption of hexavalent chromium by raw and acid-treated green alga Oedogonium hatei from aqueous solutions. J Hazard Mater 163:396–402
Gupta VK, Mohan D, Sharma S, Sharma M (2000) Removal of basic dyes (Rhodamine B and Methylene Blue) from aqueous solutions using bagasse fly ash. Sep Sci Technol 35:2097–2113
Gupta VK, Shrivastava AK, Jain N (2001) Biosorption of chromium (VI) from aqueous solutions by green algae Spirogyra species. Water Res 35:4079–4085
Gupta VK, Mittal A, Gajbe V, Mittal J (2006a) Removal and recovery of the hazardous azo dye acid orange 7 through adsorption over waste materials: bottom ash and de-oiled soya. Ind Eng Chem Res 45:1446–1453
Gupta VK, Rastogi A, Saini VK, Jain N (2006b) Biosorption of copper (II) from aqueous solutions by algae Spirogyra species. J Colloid Interface Sci 296:53–60
Gupta VK, Ali I, Saini VK (2007) Adsorption studies on the removal of Vertigo Blue 49 and Orange DNA13 from aqueous solutions using carbon slurry developed from a waste material. J Colloid Interface Sci 315:87–93
Gupta VK, Carrott PJM, Ribeiro Carrott MML, Suhas (2009) Low cost adsorbents: growing approach to wastewater treatment — a review. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 39:783–842
Kannan N, Sundaram MM (2001) Kinetics and mechanism of removal of methylene blue by adsorption on various carbons—a comparative study. Dyes Pigments 51:25–40
Kaushik P (2011) Decolourization of industrial wastewater and xylanase production by Aspergillus lentulus. PhD thesis, IIT Delhi
Kaushik P, Malik A (2009) Fungal dye decolourization: recent advances and future potential. Environ Int 35:127–141
Kaushik P, Malik A (2010) Alkali, thermo and halo tolerant fungal isolate for the removal of textile dyes. Colloid Surf B Biointerfaces 81:321–328
Kaushik P, Malik A (2011) Process optimization for efficient dye removal by Aspergillus lentulus FJ172995. J Hazard Mater 185:837–843
Lagergren S (1898) About the theory of so-called adsorption of soluble substance. Kung Sven Veten Hand 24:1–12
Langmuir I (1918) The adsorption of gases on plane surfaces of glass, mica and platinum. J Am Chem Soc 40:1361–1402
MacConaill MA, Gurr E (1964) The histological properties of Rhodanile Blue. Ir J Med Sci 39:243–250
Magyarosy A, Laidlaw RD, Kilaas R, Echer C, Clark DS, Keasling JD (2002) Nickel accumulation and nickel oxalate precipitation by Aspergillus niger. Appl Microb Biotechnol 59:382–388
Martorell MM, Pajot HF, Figueroa LIC (2012) Dye-decolourizing yeasts isolated from Las Yungas rainforest. Dye assimilation and removal used as selection criteria. Int Biodeterior Biodegrad 66:25–32
Maurya NS, Mittal AK, Cornel P, Rother E (2006) Biosorption of dyes using dead macro fungi: effect of dye structure, ionic strength and pH. Bioresour Technol 97:512–521
Ritchie AG (1977) Alternative to the Elovich equation for kinetics of adsorption of gases on solids. J Chem Soc Faraday Trans 73:1650–1657
Sharma S (2009) Chromium removal from industrial effluents using fungal isolate. PhD thesis, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Sivasamy A, Nethaji S, Nisha LLJL (2012) Equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies on the biosorption of reactive acid dye on Enteromorpha flexuosa and Gracilaria corticata. Environ Sci Pollut Res 19:1687–1695
Srivastava SK, Gupta VK, Mohan D (1997) Removal of lead and chromium by activated slag — a blast-furnace waste. J Environ Eng 123:461–468
Sun D, Zhang X, Wu Y, Liu X (2010) Adsorption of anionic dyes from aqueous solution on fly ash. J Hazard Mater 181:335–342
Tigini V, Prigione V, Donelli I, Anastasi A, Freddi G, Giansanti P, Mangiavillano A, Varese GC (2011) Cunninghamella elegans biomass optimisation for textile wastewater biosorption treatment: an analytical and ecotoxicological approach. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 90:343–352
Zee FP, Villaverde S (2005) Combined anaerobic–aerobic treatment of azo dyes—a short review of bioreactor studies. Water Res 39:1425–1440
Acknowledgments
CSIR Senior Research Fellowship to one of the authors (PK) is gratefully acknowledged. Mr. Sabal Singh (IIT Delhi, India) is gratefully acknowledged for his assistance in experimental work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible editor: Vinod Kumar Gupta
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kaushik, P., Malik, A. Comparative performance evaluation of Aspergillus lentulus for dye removal through bioaccumulation and biosorption. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 2882–2892 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1190-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1190-8