Biological treatment of azo dyes on effluent by Neurospora sp isolated and adopted from dye contaminated site

Abstract

Application of fungal agents to develop eco-friendly and cost-effective dye removal from textile effluent was studied. A fungal strain Neurospora sp has been isolated from effluent site and tested for its ability to biosorption and biodegrade azodyes. Biosorption of azo dyes by live and dead fungal biomass was evaluated. Percentage of decolorization was found to be effective against all tested azodyes and ranges between 33 and 76%. Nearly 72% of azo dyes were removed by dead Neurospora sp biomass and 86% respectively by live active biomass. Biodegradation of textile effluent by Neurospora sp showed changes in BOD, COD and TOC indicates that isolated Neurospora sp effectively degrade and utilize the dye as a sole carbon source. The initial TOC of 2600?mg/L was approximately reduced to almost its three fourth within a week. Research works on application of fungal biomass on textile effluent treatment have proven decolorizing potential among a wide range of anionic and cationic dyes. Based on the results, the biosorption mechanism by Neurospora sp was observed as effective, economic and eco-friendly decontaminant.