Pollution Research Paper

EFFECTIVENESS OF FUNGI TO REMOVE NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS IN DOMESTIC WASTE WATER

DWI RATRI MITHA ISNADINA, NURINA FITRIANI, NITA CITRASARI AND AGOES SOEGIANTO

Abstract

Fungi served decomposed of organic compounds present in the wastewater with low pH conditions, growth of bacteria was inhibited and they survived under low pH conditions, limited nutrition, and low temperatures. Fungi not only produced antibiotics that have a role in reducing the growth of bacteria and pathogens, but they also increased biodegradation. This microorganism also removed the nutrient both phosphate and nitrogen. This research was conducted to analyze the effectiveness of fungi to treat the domestic waste water containing liquid cleaning materials. The fungal isolates that used in this research were Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus sp. and Fusarium solani. The average percentages of phosphate removal in reactors with the addition of fungi and without the addition of fungi were 70.8% and 69.6%, respectively and the average ammonia removal percentage were 90.2% and 89.5%, respectively. The fungi addition on the domestic wastewater treatment had no significant effect on nitrogen and phosphate removal. The presence of the acidic atmosphere affected the performance of microorganisms in decomposing wastewater because not all microorganisms can survive in the atmosphere.