Treatment of dye industry effluent by free and immobilized fungi

Abstract

Some of the industries that discharge highly colored effluents are paper and pulp mills, textiles and dye-making industries, alcohol distilleries and leather industries. Terrestrial white-rot basidiomycetous fungi and their lignin-degrading enzymes laccase, manganese-peroxidase and lignin peroxidases are useful in the treatment of colored industrial effluents and other xenobiotics.In the present study different 13 species of fungi were isolated from the effluent. Among the isolated fungi Aspergillus was the dominant genus in the effluent.Except dissolved oxygen, all other parameters showed decreased level when compare to control.The BOD and COD level were reduced significantly. Immobilized Aspergillus showed better removal of pollutants than free cells of Aspergillus.