Fungal Pretreatment of Effluent From Piggery Anaerobic Digestion by Phanerochaete chrysosporium

A niche opportunity to produce algal biofuel more cost effective from the effluent of piggery anaerobic digestion drives the research to make the effluent an ideal medium for algal growth. The pretreatment of the effluent became a challenge because of the requirement of non-toxic and eco-friendly methods compared to chemical reagents. The clarity and N/P ratio are two crucial factors for the pretreatment of digested effluent because light penetration and nutrient ratio influence the algal biomass accumulation. Hence, Phanerochaete chrysosporium was chosen to deal with the digested effluent and the growth conditions were optimized by response surface method. The optimal conditions for the pretreatment by P. chrysosporium were pH 6.26, 25°C and an inoculum amount of 9.96mL. The decolorization and the reduction of total phosphorus reached 78.2 and 74.3%, respectively, indicating the efficiency of the response surface method. The N/P ratio reached 14:1 and a COD reduction of 98.34% at pH 8 at 35°C. Therefore, P. chrysosporium is an effective microorganism to make the effluent from piggery anaerobic digestion an ideal medium for algal growth.