Mycosorbent <i>Alternaria jacinthicola</i> AD2 as a Sustainable Alternative for the Removal of Metallic Pollutants from Industrial Effluent

Industrial effluents pose a significant concern because they contain a variety of metals and metalloids that have detrimental effects on the environment. Conventional techniques are widely used in effluent treatment plants (ETPs) to remove metallic pollutants; however, they are less effective, are costly, and generate secondary toxic waste. Mycosorbent would be a sustainable and economical alternative to conventional techniques, as it offers numerous advantages. In this study, we shed light on the development of mycosorbent, which could be potentially applicable in the treatment of industrial effluent. In a competitive (i.e., multimetal system) optimisation study, mycosorbent AD2 exhibited a maximum biosorption capacity of 3.7 to 6.20 mg/g at pH 6.0, with an initial metal ion concentration of 25 mg/L, a contact time of 2 h, at 50 ± 2 °C, and a pH_PZC of 5.3. The metal-removal capacity increased up to 1.23-fold after optimisation. The thermodynamic parameters confirmed that the AD2 mycosorbent facilitated an endothermic, feasible, and spontaneous biosorption process. The FT-IR and SEM characterisation analysis confirmed the adsorption of metals on the surface of the mycosorbent from the aqueous system. This study demonstrated that mycosorbent could be an effective tool for combating metallic pollutants in various industrial effluents.