Behaviour of Fe, Mg and Ca in acid mine drainage and experimental solutions in the presence of Aspergillus niger species isolated from various environment

Abstract

This article analyzes the ability of micromycetes to accumulate Fe, Mg and Ca from acid mine drainage (AMD) at the locality Smolník. Four strains of the Aspergillus niger (An) species originating from various types of environment were used in the experiments: the An-G strain (the locality of Gabčíkovo, Eutric Fluvisol), the An-P strain (the locality of Pezinok-Kolársky vrch, mining region with elevated amounts of As and Sb), the An-N strain (the locality of Nováky, mining region with elevated amounts of As and S), the An-Š strain (Banská ŠtiavnicaŠobov, the locality impacted by an acid sulphate weathering and extremely low pH). In the most cases the accumulation of Mg was the highest in comparison to accumulation of Fe. Accumulation of Ca was very low. Among the tested microfungi, the highest accumulation was noted by the strain An-N 55 % of Mg and by the strain An-Š 54 % of Fe from the model solution of the elements (Fe [1.67 mg/L], Mg [2.35 mg/L] and Ca [1.14 mg/L]).