Jamie Mbabazi Magezi
and Sustainable Engineering, Civil, Environmental
Hometown: Kampala, N/A, Uganda
Graduation date: Spring 2028
FURI | Spring 2026
Sustainable Remediation of Sulfate-Chloride Contaminated Soils Through Fungal Biogeochemical Processes
Sulfate and chloride ions in arid and coastal soils pose challenges to concrete foundations by triggering expansive mineral formation and structural degradation. This research investigates whether Pleurotus ostreatus, hypothesized to remain metabolically active under moderate salt stress, can reduce sulfate concentrations in contaminated soils through sorption, transformation, or immobilization processes. Experimental trials were conducted in a 1‑D column system using magnesium sulfate (8,000 ppm) mixed with fine sand and expansive bentonite clay, along with several doses of fungal inoculum- both living cultures and biomass. Initial results indicate that fungal presence reduced electrical conductivity (EC) in effluent (an indicator of dissolved salt) by approximately 57% relative to the magnesium sulfate-only control. The fungus also induced notable acidification, with a combined fungus-sand-sulfate treatment recording the lowest pH of 3.7. These findings suggest that P. ostreatus is metabolically active under high salinity conditions and may be altering ionic availability within the soil matrix. Future work will include ion chromatography (IC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis to identify mineralogical changes and confirm immobilization pathways across treatments with varying amounts of expansive clays.
Mentor: Emmanuel Salifu
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