Abstract

MARTINEZ-PENA, Vania Isabel et al. WASTE MANAGEMENT OF FUNGAL BIOMASS FOR THE OBTAINMENT OF A NANOSTRUCTURED MAGNETIC SYSTEM TO REMOVE ARSENIC FROM WATER. Rev. Int. Contam. Ambient [online]. 2020, vol.36, n.2, pp.383-397.  Epub May 04, 2021. ISSN 0188-4999.  https://doi.org/10.20937/rica.53233.

Application of filamentous fungi in biotechnological processes leads to the accumulation of biomass as waste. However, it is known that the fungal biomass contains various biopolymers among which is chitin -the precursor of chitosan. In the present work, fungal biomass was used as raw material for the extraction of a biopolymer containing chitosan by the acid/alkaline method. Different extraction conditions were assayed: the concentration of alkali, time, and temperature of treatments. The biopolymer was characterized and applied in the synthesis of nickel ferrite by the coprecipitation method demonstrating the possibility of obtaining a nanostructured magnetic system coated with fungal chitosan in a single step. The properties of the obtained nanostructured magnetic material were evaluated by X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometry, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. It was demonstrated that the nanostructured magnetic material coated with fungal chitosan removes 100 % of the arsenic present in a sample from a well of Comarca Lagunera (states of Durango and Coahuila, Mexico), as well as other ions that are not harmful to health. It was found that the capacity to remove arsenic is conserved in at least 15 tests of magnetic separation of this toxic pollutant. The results of the present work demonstrate the possibility of taking advantage of the fungal biomass residue, currently little used, for the design of magnetic nanomaterials with impact on the elimination of water from toxic pollutants by magnetic separation.

Keywords : Aspergillus niger; chitosan; magnetic nanoparticles; arsenic removal.