Filamentous Fungi Are Potential Bioremediation Agents of Semi-Synthetic Textile Waste

Textile waste contributes to the pollution of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. While natural textile fibres are known to be biodegraded by microbes, the vast majority of textiles now contain a mixture of processed plant-derived polymers and synthetic materials generated from petroleum and are commonly dyed with azo dyes. This presents a complex recycling problem as the separation of threads and removal of dye are challenging and costly. As a result, the majority of textile waste is sent to landfill or incinerated. This project sought to assess the potential of fungal bioremediation of textile-based dye as a step towards sustainable and environmentally-friendly means of disposal of textile waste. Successful development of an agar-independent microcosm enabled the assessment of the ability of two fungal species to grow on a range of textiles containing an increasing percentage of elastane. The white rot fungus Hypholoma fasciculare was shown to grow well on semi-synthetic textiles, and for the first time, bioremediation of dye from textiles was demonstrated. Volatile analysis enabled preliminary assessment of the safety profile of this process and showed that industrial scale-up may require consideration of volatile capture in the design process. This study is the first to address the potential of fungi as bioremediation agents for solid textile waste, and the results suggest this is an avenue worthy of further exploration.