Application of two fungal strains Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans in wastewater quality improvement

The nutrients Phosphorous, Nitrogen and Carbon are essential for aquatic life. However, in excess they also cause serious problems. For this reason, wastewater treatment must meet nutrient effluent limits. A wastewater sample was taken near Dhahibah village from the Erbil wastewater channel in the north of Iraq. In this experiment, pure cultures of <em>Aspergillus niger</em> and <em>Candida albicans</em> were used to treat wastewater. Samples were measured for physicochemical parameters like EC, pH, Phosphate, Nitrate, Nitrite, and BOD5 using standard methods every third day during 21 days of experiment. The results revealed that <em>Aspergillus niger</em> had the maximum efficiency in removing BOD₅, NH₄, NO₃, and EC (87.27, 89.57, 83.52, and 78.49%) respectively. On the other hand, during the experimental period, <em>Candida albicans</em> had the maximum efficiency in decreasing PO4, and NO2, were (91.58% and 88.89%), respectively. Statistically, there were differences (P≤0.05) between the control sample and the treated wastewater sample for both fungal stains for all parameters during the experiment.