Bio-decolorization of malachite green in aqueous solutions by <i>Fusarium tricinctum</i> SF11

The Industrial Revolution is one of the most significant developments in human well-being. However, owing to the use of toxic synthetic dyes in industries such as textiles, cosmetics, and wool, the effluents from these industries pose a serious environmental problem. These effluents must be treated before being discharged into the receiving environment. Biological processes have also been employed to remove synthetic dyes. Among these biological processes, biodegradation is an enzymatic reaction that removes pollutants from wastewater by breaking down dye molecules using fungal biomass. This study investigated the biodegradation process of malachite green (MG) bio-decolorization using Fusarium tricinctum SF11 fungal biomass. The effects of pH, time, initial dye concentration, biomass dose, temperature, and stirring speed on MG bio-decolorization were investigated. Fusarium tricinctum SF 11 biomass removed 99.8% of the MG bio-decolorization under optimal conditions: pH = 7, initial dye concentration = 5 mg/L, biomass dose = 10 g/L, time = 48 h, stirring speed =100 rpm, and temperature = 20 °C. In addition, it was determined that the zero-kinetic model best fit the kinetic studies. The ΔG° values (3.24, −1.85, −6.94 and −12.03 kJ/mol) calculated in the thermodynamic studies were negative, and the process occurred spontaneously. According to these findings, it was observed that Fusarium tricinctum SF11 fungal biomass is an effective and eco-friendly biomaterial for MG bio-decolorization.