%A Tao Lu, Qilei Zhang, Shanjing Yao %T Removal of dyes from wastewater by growing fungal pellets in a semi-continuous mode %0 Journal Article %D 2017 %J Front. Chem. Sci. Eng. %J Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering %@ 2095-0179 %R 10.1007/s11705-017-1644-0 %P 338-345 %V 11 %N 3 %U {https://journal.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/10.1007/s11705-017-1644-0 %8 2017-08-23 %X

To increase the efficiency of dye removal from wastewater using mycelial pellets, a bubble column reactor with a simple structure was designed and efficiently used to remove dyes from solution containing dyes. The mycelial pellets were prepared by marine fungus Aspergillus niger ZJUBE-1. Eight dyes were tested as dye targets for the adsorption capacity of mycelial pellets and good removal results were obtained. Eriochrome black T was selected as a model dye for characterizing the adsorption processes in detail. The measurement results of Zeta potential and FT-IR analysis indicate that the electrostatic attraction may play a key role in the biosorption process. The bubble column reactor was utilized to study the batch dye-removal efficiency of mycelial pellets. A re-culture process between every two batches, which was under non-sterile condition, successfully enhanced the utilization of mycelium biomass. The dye removal rate is 96.4% after 12 h in the first batch and then decreases slowly in the following batches. This semi-continuous mode, which consists of commutative processes of dye-removal and re-culture, has some outstanding advantages, such as low power consumption, easy operation, high dye removal rate, and efficient biomass utilization.