Treatment of coloured industrial effluents with Pleurotus spp

The decolouration of fermentation residues (vinasse) and liquid extract of coffee pulp by the mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus was studied in addition to laccase activity. The fungus was inhibited in both residues when they remained undiluted. In submerged cultivation on wastewaters a good production of biomass (14.8 g/l for vinasse and 5.4 g/l for extract of coffee pulp) and also laccase activity (14.1 U/ml for vinasse and 3.0 U/ml for extract of coffee pulp) up to the 10 days of fermentation was observed, being significantly greater in the culture with vinasse. It was shown that treatment with this mushroom reduces both the chemical oxygen demand and the colour, contributing to their biological treatment.