TY - JOUR T1 - Fungi as a purifying species in an Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) Bioreactor as a Biological Nitrogen Reduction System A1 - Mansour Fazelipour A1 - Afshin Takdastan A1 - Seyed Mehdi Borghei JF - International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Allied Sciences JO - Int J Pharm Res Allied Sci SN - 2277-3657 Y1 - 2020 VL - 9 IS - 2 SP - 168 EP - 176 N2 - Background: Fungi are free-living heterotrophic microorganisms, which absorb nutrients for growth and reproduction. The integrated fixed film activated sludge (IFAS) system is a beneficial technology for developing conventional activated sludge plants, which consisted of a wide range of microorganisms. Methods: Twelve wastewater samples were collected from four IFAS sites during 3 days. The samples were prepared for count and identification. The genera of fungi were identified by macroscopic and microscopic features. The physical-chemical analyses were done according to the standard method protocols. To prevent and reduce the growth of bacteria, 0.05 g/l of chloramphenicol was added to the synthetic wastewater. Results: The highest count of fungi with a mean concentration was found in the Aeration tank (149 CFU/ml), whereas the lowest count of fungi was found in the Effluent tank (3.3 CFU/ml). The highest diversity of genera (17) was isolated in the Aeration tank, while the lowest diversity of genera (3) was isolated from the Effluent tank. The results of the physical-chemical tests showed that the average removals of COD, TN, and TP in the IFAS fungal system were 91.76%, 91.43%, and 80.23%, respectively. Conclusions: This study on fungi and their ability in reducing nutrients called attention to the role of the IFAS system and its potential for developing a new biological nitrogen removal technology based on fungal treatment. UR - https://ijpras.com/article/fungi-as-a-purifying-species-in-an-integrated-fixed-film-activated-sludge-ifas-bioreactor-as-a-biological-nitrogen-reduction-system ER -