MULTIPLE METAL BIOSORPTION BY A FILAMENTOUS FUNGUS (DALDINIA STARBAECKII) ISOLATED FROM LANDFILL LEACHATE CONTAMINATED SOIL

The objective of this research was to investigate the ability of an environmentally benign fungal strain to deal with multiple metal stress and to accomplish their bioremoval from the contaminated liquid medium. Daldinia starbaeckii was used as the biosorbent material for this research. The effects of metal concentration (0, 50, 150, 450 mg/L), pH (4.5, 7, 8), and contact time (0, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120 hours) on the metal biosorption were determined. The maximum biosorption (36.77 mg/g) was observed at 450 mg/L. Biosorption increased with the increase in pH and contact time and the removal ranged between 43 – 76% and 3 – 80%, respectively. The SEM images revealed that in metal-treated mycelia, deformed, tightly packed with shortened length hyphae were observed, while long ribbon-like hyphae which are loosely packed and broad were noted in the control. The Freundlich isotherm model best described the biosorption data. This fungus can serve as a potential biosorbent for the bioremediation of metal-contaminated media.