Abstract
Wastewaters produced by the recycled paper and cardboard sector (RPCE) pose significant environmental risks due to high levels of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and a lack of essential nutrients required for effective biological degradation. In response, this investigation introduces a novel and cost-effective valorization approach: employing nutrient-laden dairy wastewater (DWW) as an eco-friendly source of nitrogen and phosphorus to enhance the bioremediation performance of a fungal consortium comprising Bjerkandera adusta and Phanerochaete chrysosporium. A primary aim of the study was to optimize the RPCE concentration to achieve a balance between contaminant reduction and industrial feasibility. Results showed that although a 25% RPCE concentration achieved the peak decolorization rate, a 50% concentration emerged as the optimal operational condition for industrial scale-up. This strategy enables the processing of larger effluent volumes while maintaining high treatment quality. Under these optimized conditions, the system attained removal rates of 93.7% for COD and 35.5% for color. Moreover, the toxicity of the treated effluent was substantially reduced, evidenced by a 55.4% drop in the phytotoxicity index (PI). The proven effectiveness of this fungal co-treatment method in non-sterile settings underscores its robustness and suitability for straightforward, cost-effective implementation in large-scale industrial systems, thus advancing circular economy principles.
Data availability
All data generated or analysed during this study are fully included in this published article.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences for support of the current research (Code number: 13606).
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This work was financially supported by Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
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M.T. Ghaneian, M. Gholami, H. Kamali, and M.H. Ehrampoush conceived the initial design and selected the research topic. H. Kamali and M. Ghafourzadeh performed the experiments. M. Gholami, M.T. Ghaneian, and M.H. Ehrampoush supervised the research process and validated the methodology. A.A. Jafari Nodoushan and M. Ghafourzadeh designed the experiments and established laboratory conditions. H. Kamali drafted the manuscript. S. Jambarsang conducted data analysis and statistical evaluations. M.T. Ghaneian and M.H. Ehrampoush supervised and managed the project. A.A. Jafari Nodoushan, M.T. Ghaneian, and M. Gholami contributed to manuscript editing. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
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This study was approved at Ethics committee of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. (ID: IR.SSU.SPH.REC.1401.075).
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Kamali, H., Gholami, M., Ehrampoush, M.H. et al. Dairy wastewater valorization enhances white rot fungi performance in recycled paper effluent treatment. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35695-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35695-z
