Mycelium usage for Iron Filtration

Publication Date

2026

College

College of Sciences & Mathematics

Department

Biology, Department of

Student Level

Undergraduate

Faculty Mentor

Beth Bowman

Presentation Type

Poster

Summary

MTSEF ABSTRACT

The Joseph Primary School in Uganda collects their water from a borehole which is contaminated with heavy metals among other contaminants. Having a high amount of heavy metals contamination causes severe diseases such as kidney damage, cancer, and neurodevelopmental deficits. Our goal is to create a sustainable water filter that can be used in these schools to help filter out the contaminants, starting with iron. To simulate the contaminated water, our procedure consisted of contaminating water by dissolving 0.5 grams Iron (II) Chloride into 1000 milliliters distilled water to get 500 ppm iron water. To test the ability of the mycelium filter, we put 88 grams of mycelium into a planter. We compared the iron contamination between the filtered water and our known control sample of 500ppm iron without filtration. Iron concentrations were determined with test strips for metal contamination. 200 mL of 500 ppm contaminated water was filtered through the mycelium. The filtered water was collected in a beaker. The water was then tested with heavy metals test strips; they showed results ranging from 0-25 ppm. Then, electron microscopy images were taken of the mycelium samples to determine the location of the iron in the filter, which indicated uptake of iron into the mycelium, not just trapped between the structures. In conclusion, Lion's Mane successfully bioaccumulates iron, removing it from the water as it passes through the mycelium filter, giving the first step in a biofiltration device that can be used on iron contaminated samples.

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