EVALUATING THE LIGNIN DEGRADING POTENTIAL OF INDIGENOUSLY ISOLATED FUNGAL STRAIN 81 FROM PAPER AND PULP INDUSTRY WASTE WATER

Lignin is a phenolic biopolymer and a complex recalcitrant compound found in the wastewater effluent of the pulp and paper industry. Wastewater generated by the pulp and paper industry is having lignin as a major part in the form of black liquor, which poses serious hazards for the ecosystem along with health risks. Biological methods including the use of micro-organisms to degrade lignin by the enzymatic battery of various bacteria and especially fungi proved out to be effective. The present study includes the application of indigenously isolated fungal strains 81 from the effluent wastewater of a local pulp and paper industry of Pakistan. The strain was grown on lignin amended minimal salt media for the screening of best lignin degrader for determining their capability of lignin degradation and color reduction. Absorbance for lignin degradation and color reduction was measured at 280nm and 465nm respectively on the spectrophotometer. The results proclaim fungal strain 81 identified as Aspergillus fumigatus, after molecular characterization (accession no. MW132910 in NCBI data base) possess the potential to degrade lignin. Hence, it could help in the removal of lignin from toxic industrial wastewater.