Immobilized fungal consortium‐GR: a novel textile effluent treatment alternative for removal of azo dyes and other pollutants

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cleaning up the environment by the elimination of harmful contaminants from textile effluents (TE) is a critical and challenging crisis that requires long-term appropriate solutions. In this work, a fungal consortium-GR containing two fungi Geotrichum candidum F4 and Rhodotorula glutinis F7, in the ratio 1:1, is demonstrated to treat the organic contaminants in TEs. RESULTS:The immobilized consortium-GR in coconut fibre is 24% more efficient at treating TE than free consortium-GR, showing a maximum decolorization of 88.4% in 6 h immersion, at optimal conditions of pH 5.5, temperature 35°C, inoculum size 5% and fibre quantity 2.5 g L −1 . Biodegradation was confirmed by using UV-visible spectrophotometry, high-performance liquid chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and the degradation pathway of methyl orange was confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy study. The novel immobilized consortium-GR in the bioreactor was assessed by the reduction of toxic parameters in 6 h: colour by 70%, total dissolved solids by 62%, total suspended solids by 81%, biological oxygen demand by 51%, chemical oxygen demand by 58%, chloride by 78%, ammonia by 64%, sulfate by 55%, lead by 12.5% and chromium by 75%. During this process of bioconversion, maximum laccase activity of 3.25 U L −1 was observed in 6 h by immobilized consortium-GR. Phytotoxicity and genotoxicity studies revealed the detoxification of TE. CONCLUSION: Through the continuous reuse of treated water in subsequent dyeings, the proposed TE treatment process represented a 92.86% reduction in water use and a total cost reduction of 22.47%.This study is a step towards upcoming onsite, field and short-term applications of consortium-GR for the management of TE.

Fungal assisted bio‐treatment of environmental pollutants with comprehensive emphasis on noxious heavy metals: Recent updates

“…Lower efficiency was shown by the bacterial consortium in comparison to the individual bacterial strains in 15 azo dyes mixture degradation while greater biodegradation efficiency was found for the fungal consortium in comparison to individual strains of fungi, where complete degradation of 10 of the tested azo dyes occurred after the period of 3 days incubation (El-Rahim et al, 2021). A fungal consortium-GR, having Geotrichum candidum F4 and Rhodotorula glutinis F7 (in the ratio 1:1), has been utilized by Sen et al (2021) for the treatment of textile effluents containing organic contaminants (azo dyes and other pollutants). They observed 24% more efficiency for the immobilized consortium-GR in coconut fibre at treating textile effluents in comparison to the free consortium-GR, exhibiting 88.4% maximum decolorization in the immersion time of 6 h at optimal conditions (pH 5.5, temperature 35°C, inoculum size 5% and fibre quantity 2.5 g L −1 ) (Sen et al, 2021).…”

“…A fungal consortium‐GR, having Geotrichum candidum F4 and Rhodotorula glutinis F7 (in the ratio 1:1), has been utilized by Sen et al (2021) for the treatment of textile effluents containing organic contaminants (azo dyes and other pollutants). They observed 24% more efficiency for the immobilized consortium‐GR in coconut fibre at treating textile effluents in comparison to the free consortium‐GR, exhibiting 88.4% maximum decolorization in the immersion time of 6 h at optimal conditions (pH 5.5, temperature 35°C, inoculum size 5% and fibre quantity 2.5 g L −1 ) (Sen et al, 2021). Selim et al (2021) used Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium oxysporium in the form of fungal consortium followed by A. flavus and F. oxysporium separately, for the study of decolorization of real textile effluent and attained 78.12 ± 2.1% decolorization with fungal consortium followed by A. flavus and F. oxysporium , separately with 54.68 ± 1.2% and 52.41 ± 1.0% removal, respectively.…”