Potential of Aspergillus niger Tiegh 8285 in the bioremediation of water contaminated with benzonitrile

Abstract

Benzonitrile is a compound found in pesticides. The use of these pesticides can cause environmental contamination, and the search for non-aggressive methods to eliminate these residues is necessary. In this study, fungi Aspergillus isolated from cocoa were investigated for their benzonitrile bioremediation potential. The fungi were cultured in a solid medium supplemented with nitrile and glucose (a), nitrile (b), and glucose (c). Independent variables: time, inoculum, and nitrile were optimized using a central composite design to determine the best microbial growth and wet biomass (dependent variable) as a response in the bioremediation process. A. niger Tiegh 8285 showed good adaptation, especially in situation b in nitrile 5 days, 3 mycelial inoculums and 54 μL of benzonitrile for microbial growth, resulting in 1.83 ± 0.03 g of wet biomass, confirming the efficiency of the selected mathematical model. A. niger Tiegh 8285 proved to be a promising bioremediation agent for benzonitrile.