This study evaluated the glucose effect on the removal of methyl parathion by Aspergillus niger AN400. The study was conducted in two stages: toxicity tests on plates and assays in flasks, under an agitation of 200 rpm. The methyl parathion concentrations in the toxicity test ranged from 0.075 to 60 mg/L. The second stage consisted on evaluating reactors: six control reactors with methyl parathion solution; six reactors with fungi and methyl parathion, and six reactors containing fungi, methyl parathion, and glucose. The reaction times studied ranged from 1 to 27 days. Methyl parathion concentrations of up to 60 mg/L were not toxic for Aspergillus niger AN400. The first-order kinetic model served as a good representation of the methyl parathion conversion rate. The first-order kinetic constant was 0.063 ± 0.005 h-1 for flasks without addition of glucose, while a value of 0.162 ± 0.014 h-1 was obtained when glucose was added.
Aspergillus niger; biological reactors; glucose; methyl parathion; toxicity
