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In the present investigation, feasibility of dairy waste water (DWW) and distillery spent wash (DSW) effluents in increasing the growth and yield of two species of oyster mushroom, Pleurotus flabellatus(PF 1832) and P. sajor-caju(PS 1610) on abundantly available agro-waste, bagasse, was evaluated. Three different levels of treatments were applied for each effluent. The effects of amendments on the result were observed in terms of yield, biological efficiency (BE) and substrate dry-matter loss. BE was found to be the highest (66.63 ± 1.0 %) for P. sajor-cajugrown on bagasse amended with 10 % DWW and lowest for Pleurotuscontrols. While P. sajor-cajuperformed better on bagasse amended with DWW, P. flabellatuswas more suited to grow on DSW amended bagasse. Degradation of complex molecules was in accordance with substrate dry-matter loss and the respective yields. The biochemical analysis of mushroom fruit bodies showed them to be a rich source of protein (maximum 36.40 %) and sugars (maximum 41.58 %). The study thus proved to be beneficial for effective management of the waste by employing higher order fungi as well as obtaining nutrient-rich delicacy for the mass.

This paper investigates the hydrodynamic behavior of oil-polluted sands in a cold bubbling bed. The minimum fluidization velocity of sand increased with the oil content of the bed. The quality of fluidization was assessed by measured and calculated coefficients and also by the power spectral density analysis of the pressure fluctuations. The increase of the dominant frequency at high contents of pollution indicated the occurrence of cohesive forces, leading to the deterioration of the quality of fluidization. Results of this study are useful for the design of industrial-size fluidized-bed remediation plants for oil-contaminated sands and soils.