International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences
ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 2 Number 9 (2013) pp. 328-340
The Effect of Temperature on Nutrient Removal from Wastewater by Selected Fungal Species
Akpor OB1, Adelani-Akande, TA1 and Aderiye BI1,2
1Microbiology Unit, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, Landm, Ark University, Omu Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria 2Department of Microbiology, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria *Corresponding author e-mail: akpor.oghenerobor@lmu.edu.ng
ABSTRACT
The main goal of wastewater treatment is to safeguard the environment by preventing the pollution of receiving water bodies. This study was aimed at investigating the effect of temperature in nutrient removal by four test fungal species (Fusarium sp, Absidia sp, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus) in synthetic wastewater at different incubation temperatures of 25oC, 30oC, 35oC and 40°C. After inoculation with each test isolate, aliquot samples were taken prior inoculation and every 24 h, for 96 h for the estimation of phosphate, nitrate and pH in the wastewater, using standard procedures. After 96 h incubation, the percentage phosphate concentration removal ranged between 29.17 %-36.17 %, 26.17 %-35.75 %, 8.01 %-37.94 % and 11.19 %-42.65 %, in the presence of the Fusarium sp, Absidia sp, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus, respectively. Optimum temperature for phosphate removal was observed at 30°C -40°C. After 96 h incubation at 25oC, the phosphate concentration was very high with most of the isolates. In the case of nitrate, highest removals of 42.89 % and 82.07 % were obtained at 35°C in the presence of the Fusarium sp and Aspergillus flavus. In the presence of the Absidia sp and the Aspergillus niger, maximum removals of 21.21 % and 30.59 %, respectively were observed at 25°C, after 96 h incubation. The study was revealed the effect of temperature in the removal of phosphate and nitrate from wastewater by the test fungal species.
Keywords
Temperature, nitrate and phosphate removal; wastewater; fungi