Received: 24 April 2025 / Accepted: 20 June 2025 / Published Online: 28 June 2025
Abstract
Melanoidin is the primary pigment responsible for the dark brown color of various agricultural wastewaters including palm oil mill effluent (POME), presents a significant challenge for degradation due to its antimicrobial properties. This study focused on enriching and selecting a laccase-producing fungal consortium specifically for melanoidin degradation in real POME. Following selection, the consortium community was identified using next-generation sequencing. To simultaneously recover bioelectricity during the degradation process, an upflow microbial fuel cell (MFC) was integrated. The analysis revealed that the consortium TC, predominantly composed of Candida tropicalis, followed by Pichia sp., Issatchenkia orientalis, and Candida orthopsilosis, demonstrated the highest laccase activity (5.22 ± 0.07 U/L) and achieved significant melanoidin degradation (94.70 ± 0.26%). Furthermore, the integrated MFC system yielded a maximum open circuit voltage (OCV) of 0.534 ± 0.031 V and a maximum power density (PD) of 77.84 ± 2.78 mW/m². These findings highlight a novel approach for the concurrent removal of recalcitrant melanoidin from POME and the generation of bioelectricity using a tailored fungal consortium within an MFC system.
