A filamentous pellets-forming fungal strain (A. oryzae) was isolated
from municipal wastewater sludge successfully. When cocultured
with microalgae, fungus–algae pellets were formed with
continuous agitation provided. The size of initial fungi inoculums
and the pH of the culture media, which changed due to fungi and
algae growth and also was a function of exogenous organic carbons,
played a key role in the pelletization process. The fungi–algae
pellets have much larger sizes than the algae, allowing harvesting
algae through simple filtration. The developed novel harvesting
technology may provide a solution to problems associated with
current energy-intensive and costly algae harvesting processes.
Moreover, the fungi–algae pellets may be harvested and reused
for treatment of industrial (e.g., heavy metal containing), municipal,
and agricultural wastewaters, thus helped recycle and reclaim
water.