Decolorization and degradation of textile effluent with the help of Enterobacter asburiae

Abstract

A bacterial strain identified as Enterobacter asburiae, based on its 16s rDNA sequence study, was isolated from textile industry effluent of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The bacterial strain was able to degrade 98% textile effluent within 60 h at 35 mg/mL of the bacterial biomass under aerobic condition. The maximum textile effluent degradation was recorded at pH 8 and at temperature of 32°C. Ultra violet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrum analysis of the bacterial treated textile effluent showed complete disappearance of the peaks at ~ 630 nm and at ~ 410 nm. Moreover, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy study revealed the presence of new sharp peak at ~ 1403 cm-1 indicating the biodegradation of dye effluent. Besides, the colorlessness of bacterial cells also indicated that E. asburiae had the capacity to decolorize the textile effluent through biodegradation instead of absorption on the surface. Gel-electrophoretic studies showed the presence of low mol wt (10.43 kDa) protein in the bacterium under dye stress condition supporting the mechanism of biodegradation.