Abstract

Lacina Coulibaly and Spiros N. Agathos

A mixture of polymeric substrates (simulating a complex wastewater) was transformed under sewer conditions and aerobiosis by Aspergillus niger in a tanks-in-series reactor at a hydraulic retention time of 14 h. Starch was totally removed after 7 h of incubation. Removal of the protein portion with a molecular weight larger than 2 kDa followed the starch removal and the total proteins were the latest to be removed. Alkaline phosphatase, leucine aminopeptidase, valine aminopeptidase, α -βglucosidase and α-mannosidase were abundantly secreted in the growth medium. This research is the first report on mixed polymeric substrate biodegradation under sewer condition by A. niger, and could be considered as an open window on fungal biomass valorisation in wastewater treatment.