Abstract

“BIOACCUMULATION OF TOXIC METALS THROUGH AQUATIC FUNGI”

Niharika Biswal* and Astha Agrawal

ABSTRACT

Steel industry is one of the nine energy and waste-intensive industries. Major processes in the production of finished steel include coke production, iron making, steel making, casting and finishing. During these processes, many contaminants like organic, inorganic and heavy metals will be released through the effluents that need to be tackled in a safe manner. It has been revealed that the toxicity of heavy metal can be removed with the help of various fungal species by using the process of bioaccumulation. The bioaccumulation of toxic metals through dominant fungal species such as Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus sydowi and Aspergillus sojae was studied along with the determination of percent of bioaccumulation of toxic heavy metals. Tolerance of these species to test concentrations was assessed by studying fungal biomass accumulation.

Keywords: Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus sydowi, Aspergillus sojae, Heavy metals, Bioaccumulation.