Use of heat-killed Aspergillus ochraceus NRRL 3174 discs as biosorbent for petroleum removal

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the petroleum sorption capacity of heat-killed fungal discs obtained from Aspergillus ochraceus strain. Effect of various parameters such as biosorbent dose (0.5g-2.5g/100mL), petroleum concentration (0.5-5%), pH (4.0-8.0), contact time (1-12h) and re-usability of biosorbent (1-6) were investigated. Accordingly, the highest biosorption capacity was obtained with 1% petroleum concentration, 1.5 g/100mL heat-killed fungal discs, 10h contact time at pH: 5.0 and room temperature. Additionally, each disc was able to actively use for at least 6 more cycles in biosorption experiments. The specific removal rate was calculated as 0.114 day−1, the rate constant and half-life period were also 1.609 day-1, t1/2 = 0.431, respectively. The kinetic study was described by the pseudo-second order model and the equilibrium modeling was found to be well fitted with Langmuir isotherm. The biosorbent(s) were characterized by Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM). Over 80% removal of long-chain n-alkanes by the heat-killed fungal discs was confirmed by GC-MS analysis. Since there has been no similar study investigating the sorption of petroleum with heat-killed Aspergillus ochraceous discs, this novel bio-based sorbent with its low cost, environmentally friendly and easy-to-apply properties can be used in advanced biosorption studies.