Exploring the Potential of Fungi for Bioremediation of Copper, Cobalt, and Cadmium in Liquid Media

Lazim ZS, Al-Dossary MA and Al-Hejuje MA

Published on: 2024-12-23

Abstract

Heavy elements contaminants represent significant pollution in the environment. Their high toxicity and propensity to accumulate in soil and crops pose a serious risk to food security. Bioremediation has emerged as an effective strategy for treating soil pollution, leveraging the capacity of microorganisms to degrade and eliminate pollutants. In this study, the ability of three fungal species, Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, and Fusarium sp. 2, to accumulate cadmium, cobalt, and copper elements tested in liquid media at two concentrations of 100 and 200 ppm. Aspergillus niger exhibited the highest cadmium removal efficiency (98.11%), while A. flavus showed remarkable removal rates for copper (99.69%) and cobalt (98.01%) at 100 ppm concentration. While at a concentration of 200 ppm, the fungus A. niger was the most effective in the removal of all elements. For cadmium, the removal rate was 93.18%; for cobalt, the removal rate was 93.13%; and for copper, the removal rate was 99.49%. Aspergillus niger was selected for further experiments to study the impact of some factors, such as temperature, pH, and medium type, on heavy elements removal. The optimal conditions for maximum removal efficiency were found to be a temperature of 35°C, pH 5.5, and the use of Sabouraud dextrose broth media. These findings highlight A. niger as an effective fungal isolate for heavy elements bioremediation and provide insights into the optimal environmental conditions to enhance this process.