Treatment of poplar alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping (APMP) effluent with Aspergillus niger

► An aerobic fermentation by using Aspergillus niger was developed for treating the pulping effluent from an alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping (APMP) process. ► It was found that without the pre-flocculation step, the bio-treatment using Aspergillus niger S13 can efficiently remove the pollutants from the APMP effluent, and produce a large amount of biomass in solid form that are rich in amino acids and minerals. ► The optimized process parameters were determined and the fermentation by using A. niger decreased the COD and color by about 60% and 43%.