Development of novel food waste-derived fungal membranes for water purification

Development of novel food waste-derived fungal membranes for water purification

Annually huge amount of carrot pomace is generated during the juice production process. Currently, a very small fraction of carrot pomace is reused and the rest is wasted. This waste was valorized in the current project using environmentally friendly processes. Nutrients available in the carrot pomace were extracted and used for cultivation of filamentous fungi. The obtained fungal biomass together with the residue from carrot pomace was used to develop membranes. The obtained membranes showed good potential for dye removal from wastewater.

Photos of carrot pomace collected from a juice manufacturer, filamentous fungi grown on the carrot, a membrane prepared from filamentous fungi and pigment solution before and after filtration using fungal membrane.