An investigation was performed to explore the capabilities of a filamentous fungal biomass to grow non-aseptically in a glucose-fed Sequencing Batch Reactor system in very extreme environment (pH 3.5) conditions. Trichoderma viride Pers: Fr. Isolate 8/90 was used as inoculum. Microscopic investigations were carried out to confirm fungal dominance in the open culture. In batch tests, the fungal biomass showed a significant ability to grow and remove the applied organic load (2000 mgGlucose L−1 d−1), with high biomass yields. Furthermore, the biomass showed an ability to resist gallic acid toxicity at high concentraions (1 g L−1) without any pre- exposure acclimation of the biomass. The biomass (about 2.5 gVSS L−1) demonstrated significant aerobic removal of gallic acid in a timeframe of 20 h from initial exposure. The robust characteristics of this SBR system demonstrate potential for future development of fungal based treatment for recalcitrant feedstocks or operation under extreme environmental conditions.

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