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Screening and identification of microbes from polluted environment for azodye (Turquoise blue) decolorization

Summary

Textile dyes in wastewater pose serious environmental problems, but certain fungi like Penicillium species can break down turquoise blue dye through natural biological processes. Researchers isolated these fungi from polluted soil and water in Ethiopia and tested their ability to remove dye under different conditions like pH and temperature. The best-performing fungi removed up to 90% of the dye, offering a potential low-cost, environmentally friendly alternative to chemical treatment methods for treating textile industry wastewater.

Background

Turquoise blue dye is widely used in textile industries, but untreated colored wastewater poses environmental and public health hazards. Microbial remediation of azodyes offers an environmentally safe alternative to physicochemical treatment approaches. In Ethiopia, the textile sector is a major source of water pollution affecting aquatic ecosystems and downstream water users.

Objective

The aim of this research is to isolate and characterize turquoise blue dye degrading microbes from polluted environments and select potential azodye degrader fungi under optimized conditions for bioinoculant formulation and bioremediation purposes.

Results

Twenty-four fungi and 6 bacterial species were identified from contaminated sites. Penicillium citrinum Thom BCA and Penicillium heriquei showed the highest decolorization capacity at 90% and 87% respectively at optimized conditions. The highest fungal mycelial biomass of 1.716 g was harvested at 90% dye removal by Penicillium citrinum at pH 4 and 30°C.

Conclusion

Penicillium citrinum and Penicillium heriquei are good candidates for turquoise blue dye removal in mycoremediation applications. Further analysis by HPLC, FTIR, and GCMS, along with toxicity analysis and field evaluation, are needed for bioinoculant formulation development. Consortia-based microbial degradation studies are recommended for full-scale bioremediation treatment strategies.
  • Published in:Heliyon,
  • Study Type:Experimental Research,
  • Source: PMID: 39183885, DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32769
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