DEVELOPMENT OF A BIOREACTOR SYSTEM USING AN IMMOBILIZED WHITE-ROT FUNGUS FOR DECOLORIZATION .1. CELL IMMOBILIZATION AND REPEATED-BATCH DECOLORIZATION TESTS

In this research the wood-rotting fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium c ulture was shown to be immobilized very well on the porous foam materi al. The biomass concentration increased to about 2-3 g/l in 4-5 days. Repeated-batch decolorization tests using immobilized Phanerochaete ch rysosporium cells were conducted for 16 days with initial concentratio ns of 50-500 ppm of Red 533 dispersed dye, a decolorization efficiency of 80% or higher was achieved within a period of one or two days. The ability of the immobilized culture to perform a long-term decolorizat ion operation was confirmed.