Conversion of sugarcane vinasse into biomass of Aspergillus sp. V1 and its potential application as a fish feed ingredient

Abstract

Vinasse generated by bioethanol industry is the acid liquid waste with high content of organic matter that causes undesirable impacts when it is poured into the ecosystem, indiscriminately. Therefore, the development of new technologies to improve the vinasse management is relevant worldwide. As a possible alternative, in this study, conversion of sugarcane vinasse into biomass of Aspergillus sp. V1 for use as a cheap fish feed ingredient was evaluated. Vinasse toxicity was also monitored, before and after biomass production, using growth parameters in Lactuca sativa as endpoints. Biomass of Aspergillus sp. V1 produced from vinasse supplemented with 2 g/L urea revealed a nutritional composition within recommended levels for fish diets, and an aflatoxins concentration of 12.9 µg/kg, which was within permissible levels for animal feeds. Fish feeding assays with 50 % and 100 % fungus biomass did not demonstrate any adverse effects for Poecilia reticulata, used as a model organism. Finally, inhibitory concentration (IC50) on L. sativa root elongation was 11.7 % for initially received vinasse and 23.8 % for vinasse resulting from biomass production. These findings demonstrate that it is feasible to minimize the transfer of distilleries pollution to the environment through biological conversion of vinasse into fungal biomass with nutritional value.