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Design and testing of a cost-efficient bioremediation system for tannery effluents using native chromium-resistant filamentous fungi

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Abstract

In Arequipa (Peru), a small-scale tannery industry cannot afford costly or complicated methods for effluent treatment. In this work, we designed and tested a bubble column bioreactor for tannery effluent treatment based on the native filamentous fungi Penicillium citrinum and Trichoderma viride. The bioreactor construction used low-cost materials, with an easy-to-handle design. The parameters considered for testing were based on current Peruvian legislation. In the bioreactor, P. citrinum successfully reduced the effluent content of sulfides, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS) and removed nearly 80% of the chromium (VI) after 120 h of reaction. The resulting treated effluent had a composition within the maximum limits permitted by Peruvian legislation. Trichoderma viride also reduced the content of TSS, COD and sulfides, but decreased the chromium (VI) concentration by only ~ 20% after the same reaction time. Both filamentous fungi were able to grow in the experimental conditions used and the bioremediation process occurred with no significant alteration in pH. These findings indicate that a bubble column bioreactor using P. citrinum as a bioremediator agent provides low-cost, effective technology for treating effluent waste produced by artisanal and small-size tannery factories in the region of Arequipa.

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Fig. 1

Taken with permission from Zapana-Huarache et al. (2020)

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dra. Susana Zurita, head of the Laboratorio de Biotecnología Micológica (Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia), for confirming the identification of the fungal species, to Prof. Dr. Stephen Hyslop for reviewing and correcting the English language. This work was funded by the UNSA-INVESTIGA funding program of the Universidad Nacional de San Agustin (Arequipa, Peru).

Funding

This study was financed by UNSA-INVESTIGA (Grant No. IBA-0030-2017) and was part of an undergraduate dissertation by S.V.Z.-H.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Biología Acuática, Departamento Académico de Biología, Universidad Nacional de San Agustín (UNSA), Av. Alcides Carrión ZIP 4002, Arequipa, Peru

    S. V. Zapana-Huarache, C. K. Romero-Sánchez, A. P. Dueñas Gonza & A. M. Lazarte Rivera

  2. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Rua Tessália Vieira de Camargo, 126, Cidade Universitária Zeferino Vaz, Campinas, 13083-887, SP, Brazil

    F. D. Torres-Huaco

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  1. S. V. Zapana-Huarache
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  2. C. K. Romero-Sánchez
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  3. A. P. Dueñas Gonza
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  4. F. D. Torres-Huaco
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  5. A. M. Lazarte Rivera
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Correspondence to F. D. Torres-Huaco.

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Editorial responsibility: Josef Trögl.

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Zapana-Huarache, S.V., Romero-Sánchez, C.K., Dueñas Gonza, A.P. et al. Design and testing of a cost-efficient bioremediation system for tannery effluents using native chromium-resistant filamentous fungi. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 17, 3825–3834 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-020-02726-9

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