Batch reactors were inoculated with Aspergillus niger AN 400 to remove phenol from synthetic media with and without glucose. The experiment was set by: five blank reactors (group 1) with media containing only phenol; five reactors (group 2) inoculated with fungi and with media containing only phenol; and five reactors (group 3) inoculated with fungi and with media containing phenol and glucose (5 g/L). These reactors were kept at 30°C under stirring of 200 rpm during 5 days. The mean initial concentrations of phenol and COD were 323 mg/L and 696 mg COD/L for the media without glucose, and 6058 mg COD/L for the media containing glucose. The reactors of group 2 removed 48% of phenol and 21% of COD, while the reactors of group 3 removed 100% of phenol and 93% of COD. There was no significant reduction of phenol and COD in the blank reactors. The assimilation was the main pathway of phenol removal.
Aspergillus niger; glucose; phenol; biological treatment; wastewater
