University Of Tehran Press Pollution 2383-451X 8 2 2022 04 01 Myco-remediation of Dairy Wastewater by Naturally Attenuated Aspergillus sp. Responsible for Sulfate Reduction 611 619 85983 10.22059/poll.2021.332245.1215 EN Neha Sharma Research and Development Centre, Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College and Hospital, Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Solan- 173229, Himachal Pradesh, India 0000-0003-4841-4352 Alok Kumar Meher Instrumentation Laboratory Central Pollution Control Board Parivesh Bhawan, East Arjun Nagar Shahdara, Delhi- 110032, India Harshita Bhagwani Department of Zoology, Poddar International College, Jaipur-302020, Rajasthan, India Darshan Chahar Department of Zoology, Poddar International College, Jaipur-302020, Rajasthan, India Neetu Yadav Department of Zoology, Poddar International College, Jaipur-302020, Rajasthan, India Vipra Kohli Research and Development Centre, Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College and Hospital, Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Solan- 173229, Himachal Pradesh, Indi Bhavyam Shourie Research and Development Centre, Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College and Hospital, Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Solan- 173229, Himachal Pradesh, India Kalirajan Arunachalam Department of Science Engineering and Technology, School of Science, Engineering and Technology, Mulungushi University, Kabwe.80415, Zambia Munaska Siankuku University of Zambia, School of Natural Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, Lusaka-32379, Zambia Journal Article 2021 09 13 Dairy industries generate enormous volumes of waste water which are significantly rich in organic compounds; contributing to high BOD, COD and sulfates. As a mandate to ‘treat’ effluents generated by different unit operations in a dairy industry, current treatment methods rely on physico-chemical, mechanical and conventional biological interventions. This approach remains unviable because of cost intensiveness and excessive energy usage. Additionally, the significant lowering of pollution indicators remains a daunting task with inlet and outlet parameters. With these identifiable gaps, our study was aimed to screen bio-efficacious, naturally attenuated fungal isolates to lower exceeding levels of sulfate in effluents released by dairy industry. Effluent samples were collected from Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) of Jaipur Dairy, Rajasthan Dairy Co-operation Limited (RCDF), Jaipur. For mycological investigations, qualitative screening was carried out in Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) supplemented with Calcium Sulfate (CaSo4) (0.1g/L). The most promising fungal isolates belonging to <em>Aspergillus </em>sp. was characterized based on its cultural and microscopic characteristics. Microcosm study was conducted by supplementing <em>Aspergillus </em>sp. in Untreated Dairy Effluent (UDE) for a period of 7 days at Room Temperature (RT) under static conditions. Following the incubation phase, mycelial mesh (plug) was indicative of exponential fungal growth. Effluent seeded with <em>Aspergillus </em>sp. and abiotic controls were spinned at 5000 rpm for 15 minutes to eliminate biomass. Sulfate estimation was carried out in Cell Free Extract (CFE) of both experimental and control group. A significant reduction of 67.3% was observed (p<0.05) with respect to positive control and 8.4% when contrasted with abiotic control.  https://jpoll.ut.ac.ir/article_85983_22bdd68baef7293e231c3e3a350ef5b3.pdf