Effect of cellulose as co-substrate on old landfill leachate treatment using white-rot fungi

A Bardi; Q Yuan; G Siracusa; I Chicca; M Islam; F Spennati; V Tigini; S Di Gregorio; D B Levin; G Petroni; G Munz

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2017.06.046

Effect of cellulose as co-substrate on old landfill leachate treatment using white-rot fungi

Bioresour Technol. 2017 Oct:241:1067-1076. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.06.046. Epub 2017 Jun 12.

Authors

A Bardi¹, Q Yuan², G Siracusa³, I Chicca³, M Islam², F Spennati⁴, V Tigini⁵, S Di Gregorio³, D B Levin⁶, G Petroni³, G Munz⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Luca Ghini 13, 56126 Pisa, Italy. Electronic address: alessandra.bardi@for.unipi.it.
² Department of Civil Engineering, University of Manitoba, 15 Gillson Street, R3T 5V6 Winnipeg, Canada.
³ Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Luca Ghini 13, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
⁴ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Florence, Via S. Marta 3, 50139 Florence, Italy.
⁵ Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Viale Mattioli 25, 10125 Torino, Italy.
⁶ Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba, 75A Chancellor Circle, R3T 5V6 Winnipeg, Canada.

PMID: 28651323
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.06.046

Abstract

Conventional wastewater treatment technologies are ineffective for remediation of old LandFill Leachate (LFL), and innovative approaches to achieve satisfactory removal of this recalcitrant fraction are needed. This study focused on old LFL treatment with a selected fungal strain, Bjerkandera adusta MUT 2295, through batch and continuous tests, using packed-bed bioreactors under non-sterile conditions. To optimize the process performance, diverse types of co-substrates were used, including milled cellulose from beverage cups waste material. Extracellular enzyme production was assayed, in batch tests, as a function of a) cellulose concentration, b) leachate initial Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Soluble COD (sCOD), and c) co-substrate type. Bioreactors were dosed with an initial start-up of glucose (Rg) or cellulose (Rc). An additional glucose dosage was provided in both reactors, leading to significant performance increases. The highest COD and sCOD removals were i) 63% and 53% in Rg and ii) 54% and 51% in Rc.

Keywords: Bioreactors; Landfill leachate; Recalcitrant compound removal; Wastewater treatment; White-rot fungi.

MeSH terms

Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis
Bioreactors*
Cellulose*
Wastewater
Water Pollutants, Chemical*

Substances

Waste Water
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Cellulose