Remediation of arsenic in soil by<i>Aspergillus nidulans</i>isolated from an arsenic‐contaminated site

Abstract

High concentrations of heavy metals, such as arsenic, in soils have potential long-term environmental and health consequences due to their persistence in the environment and their associated toxicity to biological organisms. Aspergillus nidulans isolated from arsenic-contaminated soil has the potential to remove arsenic from soil. The isolated resistant strain showed resistance up to 500 ppm and the mean weight was found to be 1.309 g. The main objective of this research was to study the improvement to the remediation of arsenic-contaminated soil by the addition of nutrient sources such as carbon (0.15-0.85 g L(-1)), nitrogen (0.25-1.05 g L(-1)) and phosphate (0.10-0.30 g L(-1)) to the medium. The effect of ionic strength on Aspergillus nidulans was optimized by NaCl at 0.12-0.30%. The biomass concentration and growth profile of Aspergillus nidulans in arsenic-contaminated soil was found to be 0.709 g after 11 days. The arsenic adsorption potential of Aspergillus nidulans from the contaminated soil was found to be 84.35% after 11 days at pH 4 and a temperature of 35 degrees C. This investigation indicated that the isolated resistant strain had an important role in adsorption of arsenic from the contaminated soil.