Mycotechnology to remove of metals from tannery and galvanic effluents- Fungal species from the Amazon and Atlantic Forest show high efficiency

Metals are considered one of the biggest environmental problems, due to their toxicity and the complexity of removal. This study evaluated the bioaccumulation capacity of water contaminating metals by fungal isolates of Lentinus and Panus species, to elucidate the bioremediation processes of metal contaminated effluents. Initially, tests were performed with fungal isolates using a mixture of metals, aluminum, iron, copper, lead, chromium, nickel and zinc. Lentinus crinitus 154L.21 was the most promising fungus for the removal of metals in the mixture. Based on these data, the potential application of this fungus for the treatment of galvanic and tannery effluents was evaluated. For galvanic effluent, no detectable copper, chromium, and nickel was removed; however, for tannery effluents, reductions in aluminum concentrations from 204.1 to 3.7 mg L-1 ( approximately equal to 98% removal), chromium from 1199.6 to 20.4 mg L-1 ( approximately equal to 98% removal) and iron from 22.6 mg L-1 (100% removal) to an amount lower than the detection limit were observed. These data indicated that L. crinitus 154L.21 removes metals from industrial effluents, being an important route for bioremediation processes.

Automated summary

Metals are a major environmental problem due to their toxicity and complexity of removal. This study evaluated the bioaccumulation capacity of fungal isolates to remove water contaminating metals and found that L. crinitus 154L.21 showed promising results in removing metals from industrial effluents, indicating its potential for bioremediation processes.