Investigations were carried out to determine the composition of fungal flora in the studied sites. Samples of the raw effluent were collected along the flow channel and the retention pond. Water samples were also collected at the discharge point and up and down stream of the river from the discharge point. The samples were spinned at a speed of 250rpm for 10minutes and spread inoculated the deposits on potato carrot agar (PCA) and potato agar supplemented with 7.5% Nacl. Inoculated plates were incubated aerobically at room temperature in dark cupboard for 7days. Fungal colonies that emerged on the primary culture plates were distinguished into types. The pure isolates were characterized into genera using standard taxonomic guides. Genera such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Curvularia, Fusarium, Microsporum, Trichoderma, Rhizoctonia, Nigrospora and Chaetophoma species were detected in the raw effluent. However, Microsporum, Trichoderma, Rhizoctonia, Nigrospora and Chaetophoma species were conspicuously absent in the effluent retention pond. Only Trichoderma and Chaetophoma species were absent in water samples collected at the treated effluent discharge point into the recipient River. Samples of water collected up stream of the discharge point did not contain Geotrichum, Nigrospora and Chaetophoma species. Curvularia, Microsporum, Rhizoctonia and Nigrospora species were not detected in water samples collected downstream of the discharge point. It was therefore concluded that, fungi constitute a significant proportion of the microflora of sites contaminated with the refinery effluent and could be playing an important role in the remediation of sites receiving the effluent. © JASEM http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jasem.v18i4.5
Investigations were carried out to assess the capacity of strains of fungi isolated from raw flowing effluent and effluent retention pond of Kaduna refinery plant to resist and grow in the presence of lead (Pb), nickel (Ni) and cadmium (Cd) invitro. Fungi belonging to the genera including Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp., Curvularia spp. and Nigrospora spp. were isolated from the study sites. The isolates were inoculated into duplicate 100ml flask containing 50ml of potato dextrose broth (PDB) supplemented with 5,10 and 15ppm of Pb, Ni, and Cd. Each test isolate was inoculated into duplicate flask containing the same medium without the heavy metals to serve as control. All inoculated flasks were incubated aerobically at room temperature on a rotator shaker for 7days. The mycelial mats were harvested by filtering the cultures through preweighed filter paper (No.1). The filters bearing the mycelial mats were dried in an oven at 70 o C for 18hours. It was observed that most of the isolates tested resisted and grew in the medium containing 5 to 15ppm of tested heavy metals. Yield of dry mycelia mats in the heavy metal supplemented medium were also comparable to those grown in heavy metal free PDB medium. It was concluded that, these genera of fungi could be playing an important role in the removal of these metals usually present in the raw effluent during the period of residency in the retention pond through bioaccumulation. ©JASEM
Low density polyethylene (LDPE) is used for packaging and other industrial application is a significant source of environmental pollution. The present study was aimed at testing the ability of bacterial strains identified as Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to degrade LDPE. These strains were isolated from soil samples collected from dump site. All bacterial isolates were screened for their ability to degrade synthetic LDPE. Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa produced weight loss percentages of 0.18% and 0.17% respectively and were used for further studies. The biodegradation was further enhanced by blending pellets of the LDPE (90, 80 and 70 %) with cassava starch (10, 20 and 30%). The screened bacteria isolates were incubated along with the cassava starch modified LDPE for a period of 60 days. Degradation was observed in terms of weight loss and tensile strength of the modified LDPE. Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa achieved a maximum weight loss reduction of 42.01 % and 51.03 % respectively in LDPE modified with 30 % cassava starch. However, the highest weight loss reduction of 54.03 % in 30 % Cassava starch modified LDPE by the bacterial consortium. Tensile strength of 42.01% was achieved in LDPE containing 30% starch. Therefore these results show that the bacteria used in this study can colonize, utilize and modify LDPE as a sole carbon source, signifying the potential of Bacillus and Pseudomonas spp. to degrade LDPE film. This work would also pave way for future studies on biodegradation to resolve the universal pollution issues.
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