The MycoSorb project deals with the production of fungal adsorbent materials for wastewater treatment. The main goal of MycoSorb is to bind pharmaceutical active residues and their metabolites.
Every year, large quantities of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites enter the sewage system through improper disposal and excrement. The three cleaning stages (mechanical, biological, chemical) used to date in sewage treatment plants are not able to completely break down or remove these active ingredients in the wastewater. As a result, drug residues enter the water cycle and can harm people and the environment. New processes can already remove a large number of substances from wastewater, but these methods are usually very expensive, energy-intensive or novel bioactive substances are produced.
The principle of MycoSorb is based on easily produced fungal composites which bind active substances reversibly and by that remove them from the water cycle. By the individual combination of fungi and substrate it is possible to optimize the material for binding of certain active substances.
The application of MycoSorb filters can contribute to a sustainable purification of wastewater.
MycoSorb – Fungal-based adsorbent for the removal of active substance residues from wastewater
October 2023 – September 2024
We would like to thank the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for funding the project “MycoSorb“, promotional reference 031B1475.
Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB