Untreated textile effluent includes toxic dyes, and its
disposal
often contaminates the soil. In the present study, we explore the
possibility of an eco-friendly method using biosurfactant-producing
bacteria consortia isolated from textile effluent contaminated soil
of Sanganer, Jaipur, and its biosurfactant for bioremediation of soil.
The bacterial consortia could reduce the surface tension from 72.06
to 29.00 mN/m and result in a maximum emulsification index (E24) of
63.3%. They could decolorize textile effluents by 94.74%. This was
made possible by the bacterial cell’s production of laccase
enzyme and the extracellular production of the anionic biosurfactant,
which created a micelle of the toxic dye and used anionic flocculation
to carry out the treatment. The crude biosurfactant could bioremediate
soil. The phytotoxicity analysis of treatment of the contaminated
soil with biosurfactants resulted in a 93% germination index, high
root and shoot biomass of the plant, and increased mineral content
of the soil. Results showed that the biosurfactant was effective in
enriching the soil with macro- and micronutrients.