Isolation and Screening of Fungi for Delignification of Paper Mill Effluent

Fifty fungi species were isolated from paper mill effluent i.e. Penicillium sp, Trichoderma sp, Rhizopus sp, Mucor sp, Aspergillus sp, and Phanerochaete sp. After screening of fungi, Phanerochaete sp, a white rot fungus was selected for delignification. The effect of different parameters on delignification was studied. It was found that pH (5), temperature (30°C), contact time (6 days) and moisture content (40%) were optimum for delignification by Phanerochaete sp. Different physicochemical parameters i.e., dissolved oxygen, turbidity, conductivity, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demands were also determined.