Abstract

The present study focused on the decolorization of textile dye Reactive Black-5 by actively growing mycelium of fungus Penicillium chrysogenum MT-6, which was isolated from the cement-contaminated soil. Dye decolorization was probably associated with fungal growth and hyphal uptake mechanism (Biosorption/Bioadsorption). Dye uptake was strongly depended on mycelial morphology. Small uniform pellets with 2 mm size and nutrient-poor mediumwere found to be better for dye uptake. Optimal conditions for dye uptake by the fungus were determined as initial pH of 5.0, shaking speed of 150 rpm, temperature of 28°C, spore concentration of 10⁷/ml, 10 g/l sucrose and 1 g/l ammonium chloride. The maximum removal/uptake of dye by fungus was 89% (0.267 g removed-dye) with 3.83 g/l of biomass production at an initial dye concentration of 0.3 g/l in 100 h. The fungus was found to be a good bio-system for the decolorization of the medium containing Reactive Black-5. It was shown for the first time in the present study that the cement-contaminated soil was a good source of microorganisms, being capable of removing snythetic textile dye.

Key words: Penicillium chrysogenum MT-6, dye removal, optimization, reactive black-5.