Effect of Micro-Nanobubbles on Arsenic Removal by Trichoderma atroviride for Bioscorodite Generation

Asunción Guadalupe Morales-Mendoza; Ana Karen Ivanna Flores-Trujillo; Jesús Adriana Ramírez-Castillo; Salvador Gallardo-Hernández; Refugio Rodríguez-Vázquez

doi:10.3390/jof9080857

Effect of Micro-Nanobubbles on Arsenic Removal by Trichoderma atroviride for Bioscorodite Generation

J Fungi (Basel). 2023 Aug 17;9(8):857. doi: 10.3390/jof9080857.

Authors

Asunción Guadalupe Morales-Mendoza¹, Ana Karen Ivanna Flores-Trujillo², Jesús Adriana Ramírez-Castillo^{2

3}, Salvador Gallardo-Hernández⁴, Refugio Rodríguez-Vázquez²

Affiliations

¹ Doctoral Program in Nanosciences and Nanotechnology, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV-IPN), Instituto Politécnico Nacional Avenue, No. 2508, Zacatenco, Mexico City 07360, Mexico.
² Department of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV-IPN), Instituto Politécnico Nacional Avenue, No. 2508, Zacatenco, Mexico City 07360, Mexico.
³ Subdirection of Health Riks, National Center of Disasters Prevention CENAPRED, Delfin Madrigal Avenue, No. 665, Pedregal de Santo Domingo, Coyoacán, Mexico City 04360, Mexico.
⁴ Departament of Physics, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV-IPN), Instituto Politécnico Nacional Avenue, No. 2508, Zacatenco, Mexico City 07360, Mexico.

Abstract

The global environmental issue of arsenic (As) contamination in drinking water is a significant problem that requires attention. Therefore, the aim of this research was to address the application of a sustainable methodology for arsenic removal through mycoremediation aerated with micro-nanobubbles (MNBs), leading to bioscorodite (FeAsO₄·2H₂O) generation. To achieve this, the fungus Trichoderma atroviride was cultivated in a medium amended with 1 g/L of As(III) and 8.5 g/L of Fe(II) salts at 28 °C for 5 days in a tubular reactor equipped with an air MNBs diffuser (TR-MNBs). A control was performed using shaking flasks (SF) at 120 rpm. A reaction was conducted at 92 °C for 32 h for bioscorodite synthesis, followed by further characterization of crystals through Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. At the end of the fungal growth in the TR-MNBs, the pH decreased to 2.7-3.0, and the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) reached a value of 306 mV at 5 days. Arsenic decreased by 70%, attributed to possible adsorption through rapid complexation of oxidized As(V) with the exchangeable ferrihydrite ((Fe(III))_4-5(OH,O)₁₂), sites, and the fungal biomass. This mineral might be produced under oxidizing and acidic conditions, with a high iron concentration (As:Fe molar ratio = 0.14). The crystals produced in the reaction using the TR-MNBs culture broth and characterized by SEM, XRD, and FTIR revealed the morphology, pattern, and As-O-Fe vibration bands typical of bioscorodite and römerite (Fe(II)(Fe(III))₂(SO₄)₄·14H₂O). Arsenic reduction in SF was 30%, with slight characteristics of bioscorodite. Consequently, further research should include integrating the TR-MNBs system into a pilot plant for arsenic removal from contaminated water.

Keywords: Fe; ORP; Trichoderma atroviride; arsenic; bioscorodite; ferrihydrite; micro-nanobubbles; mycoremediation.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Humanidades Ciencias y Tecnologías (CONAHCYT) with a doctoral scholarship awarded to Morales-Mendoza A.G. (No.998228) and a postdoctoral scholarship awarded to Flores-Trujillo A.K.I. (No. 592589).