Influence of dye type and salinity on aerobic decolorization of azo dyes by microbial consortium and the community dynamics

In this research, aerobic decolorization of different azo dyes by a microbial community was studied. The results showed that more than 80% of four azo dyes (100 mg/L) could be aerobically decolorized by the microbial consortium, however, the time needed was obviously different. Kinetic data indicated that the processes were well described by zero-order kinetics, and the chemical structures of dyes had obvious influence on decolorization rates. On the other hand, effects of salinity on decolorization were also investigated. There was still 40% dye removal for Acid Brilliant Red GR when the salinity increased to 250 g/L. And the microbial community structures with different salinity were detected by PCR-DGGE. It was shown that the same two bacteria were dominant in all decolorization systems, and some typical halophilic microorganisms were found under higher-salt conditions.