Bacterial and Fungal Decolorization of the Remazol Dye in Textile Effluent of Malaysian Cottage Industries by <i>Lactobacillus delbrueckii</i> and <i>Pleurotus ostreatus</i>

Abstract

The rapidly expanding cottage textile sector – which is due to increasing demand - has greatly contributed to Malaysia’s economic growth. Unfortunately, this growing industry is also creating a lot of environmental issues associated with textile effluents and it has become a public concern. Innovative solution such as biological technology is preferable as it can reduce the destructive impact on the ecological system. The goal of this research is to study the effectiveness of Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Pleurotus ostreatus at decolorizing remazol dyes that exist in textile effluents. Both microbes had exhibited good color removal of between 50 - 70 % in less than 120 hours with optimum conditions for decolorization occuring at pH 7.0, dye concentration of 0.2 mL/mL, and temperature at 37°C.