title: Mycoremediation--a prospective environmental friendly technique of bioseparation and dewatering of domestic wastewater sludge.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Environmental safe and friendly management and disposal of wastewater sludge is a problem of every treatment plant throughout the world. Bioseparation and dewaterability of raw domestic wastewater sludge were evaluated for proper management and disposal by mycoremediation, i.e., using prior grown 2% (v/v) spore suspension of filamentous fungal (Mucor hiemalis Wehmer) broth inoculation, which were grown in 2% (w/v) solution of malt extract and wheat flour for 48-60 h in orbital shaker.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Within 2-3 days of treatment application, encouraging results were achieved in total dry solids (TDS), total suspended solid (TSS), turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), specific resistance to filtration (SRF), and pH due to fungal treatment in recognition of bioseparation and dewaterability of wastewater sludge compared to control. The significant reduction of TDS was remarked at fungal biomass (FB) in wheat flour (WF) treatment. The removal of TSS, turbidity, COD, and SRF were observed 96.0%, 99.4%, 92.6%, and 97.6%, respectively, in supernatant at 5 days by FB in WF. The SRF measuring the dewaterability was decreased with maximum (0.26 × 10(-12) mg/kg) equivalent to 95.5% at 2 days in FB in WF also. FB in WF broth is a potential, environmental friendly, comparatively low-cost biological technique which might play the significant role for bioremediation and bioseparation of domestic wastewater sludge. The present technique may bring a dynamic change in treatment of wastewater in future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. ahmolla60@gmail.com
authors.forename: Abul Hossain
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Molla
authors.forename: Ahmadun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fakhru'l-Razi
mesh_terms: D059827:Agricultural Inoculants; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D018533:Biomass; D005374:Filtration; D005433:Flour; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009089:Mucor; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology*; D014908:Triticum; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage