Performance of a fungal based SBR under pH extreme and shock phenolic exposure

An investigation was performed to explore the capabilities of a filamentous fungal biomass to grow non-aseptically in a glucose-fed Sequencing Batch Reactor system in very extreme environment (pH 3.5) conditions. Trichoderma viride Pers: Fr. Isolate 8/90 was used as inoculum. Microscopic investigations were carried out to confirm fungal dominance in the open culture. In batch tests, the fungal biomass showed a significant ability to grow and remove the applied organic load (2000 mg_Glucose L⁻¹ d⁻¹), with high biomass yields. Furthermore, the biomass showed an ability to resist gallic acid toxicity at high concentraions (1 g L⁻¹) without any pre- exposure acclimation of the biomass. The biomass (about 2.5 g_VSS L⁻¹) demonstrated significant aerobic removal of gallic acid in a timeframe of 20 h from initial exposure. The robust characteristics of this SBR system demonstrate potential for future development of fungal based treatment for recalcitrant feedstocks or operation under extreme environmental conditions.