Removal of toxic heavy metal ion from tannery effluent by using Fusarium subglutinans and Hylocereus undatus

Abstract

The major sources of aquatic pollution are tannery effluent from tannery industries. One of method for removing harmful metals from natural water and commercial refuse sources is biosorption of heavy metals. The chrome tannery wastewater sample was procured from State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd (SIPCOT). To isolate the metal-tolerant fungus with the ability to absorb heavier metal chromium, the gathered specimens were serially reduced. It offers a possible substitute for the traditional method of eliminating metals. The filtered fungal biomass Fusarium subglutinans and agro-waste biosorbent Hylocereus undatus are used to remove the Cr6+ which is present in tannery effluent. The atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to ascertain the remain-ing Cr level in solution. The highest % elimination of Cr6+ for the mixed biosorbent was determined to be 98.67% at 50 mg/L starting Cr6+ content, 5 g biosorbent dose, pH 2.0, and 150 rpm agitation speed at room temperature. The optimal period for Cr6+ biosorption on the biosorbent was 60 min. Finding the biosorption process efficiency requires determining its balance. The equilibrium param-eters were examined. The association coefficient (R2) for mixed biosorbent was discovered to be in the following order: Redlich–Peterson (0.9877) > Langmuir (0.8319) > Sips (0.7913) > Freundlich (0.5769). The findings indicated that mixed biosorbent had the capability to remove Cr6+, and the amount of Cr6+ removed from chrome tannery wastewater was determined to be 99.87%. The elimination of Cr6+ from chrome tannery wastewater is a practical, affordable, and environmentally beneficial procedure, according to the analysis of the processed effluent.