African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 2 (11), pp. 438-443, November 2003

ISSN 1684-5315  © 2003 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Transformation kinetics of mixed polymeric substrates under transitory conditions by Aspergillus niger

Lacina Coulibaly ^1*and Spiros N. Agathos²

¹Laboratoire d’Environnement et de Biologie Aquatique, UFR-Sciences et Gestion de l’Environnement, Université d’Abobo-Adjamé 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02, Côte d’Ivoire.

²Unit of Bioengineering, Catholic University of Louvain Place Croix du Sud 2 Bte 19, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.

^*Corresponding author. E-mail: lacina91@hotmail.com. Tel: 07497153.

Accepted 18 October 2003

A mixture of polymeric substrates (simulating a complex wastewater) was transformed under sewer conditions and aerobiosis by Aspergillus niger in a tanks-in-series reactor at a hydraulic retention time of 14 h. Starch was totally removed after 7 h of incubation. Removal of the protein portion with a molecular weight larger than 2 kDa followed the starch removal and the total proteins were the latest to be removed. Alkaline phosphatase, leucine aminopeptidase, valine aminopeptidase, a-bglucosidase and a-mannosidase were abundantly secreted in the growth medium. This research is the first report on mixed polymeric substrate biodegradation under sewer condition by A. niger, and could be considered as an open window on fungal biomass valorisation in wastewater treatment.

Keywords: Polysaccharide, wastewater, starch, bovine serum albumin, macromolecules, tank-in-series reactor, enzyme.