Bioleaching of heavy metals from contaminated sediments by the Aspergillus niger strain SY1

Purpose The objective of this study was to investigate the bioleaching of heavy metals from contaminated sediments by Aspergillus niger strain SY1. To achieve this, three targets were identified: (1) identify organic acids produced by the isolated A. niger strain SY1 from contaminated sediments, (2) compare the leaching ability and transformation of chemical speciation of heavy metals during the bioleaching processes, and (3) determine the toxic characteristic of sediment before and after bioleaching.