Fermentation waste of Aspergillus terreus: a promising copper bio-indicator

摘要: Fermentation waste biomass of filamentous fungi is generally disposed off either by land-filling or incineration. Its employment as a biosorbent attains ecological significance in removing toxicants, especially heavy metals from waste water. The biomass waste of Aspergillus terreus showed high copper sorption capacity to the tune of 224 mg/g dry wt. The fungal mycelium proved to be a good bio-indicator of copper as even at 1 ppm Cu super(2+), it attained blue colour which became darker with increase in the level of Cu super(2+) in the medium. Besides this, even in a multi-ion medium containing Zn super(2+) and Co super(2+), the copper biosorption was visually indicated, thereby showing its preference for the metal.