A novel method to extract chromium impurity using facultative marine Aspergillus niger and magnetic fluid

V. Davariya¹ , A. K. Vala^1,2 , R. Desai¹ , R. V. Upadhyay¹

¹ Center for Excellence in Nanotechnology of Nanomagnetic Particles, Department of Physics, Bhavnagar University Bhavnagar - 364 002, Gujarat, India
² Department of Bioinformatics, Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar - 364 002, Gujarat, India

Abstract
Chromium (VI) tolerance and removal efficiency of facultative marine fungus {\it Aspergillus niger\/} in the absence and presence of MnZn ferrite magnetic fluid (MF) has been studied. The fungus exhibits a luxuriant growth in the presence of hexavalent chromium at the concentration 25\,mg/L. The MF also exhibits a positive effect on biomass accumulation. Percentage removal of chromium ranged 32--87\%, while that in the presence of MF ranged 42--83\%. Temporal effect studies on chromium removal revealed more than 50\% Cr removal in the presence of MF on the fifth day. These preliminary observations indicate a possibility of harnessing young cultures of {\it A.\,niger} with nanoparticles dispersed in the magnetic fluid for chromium removal. Figs 2, Refs 17.