Decolorization of Synthetic Dyes by Aspergillus flavus

ABSTRACT

A problem of paramount importance that has attracted the attention of environmental biologists is the discharge of highly colored effluents into the environment by various industries, which use a wide range of synthetic dyes. The existing chemical methods for dye degradation are not only expensive but also contributes to secondary pollution due to high dose of the chemicals used. Hence an alternative is to exploit the potential of microorganisms to alleviate this problem. The current paper deals with the isolation, characterization, and sugar utilization for better growth of Aspergillus flavus, a marine fungus from the Bay of Bengal. The goal is to assess the bioremediation potential of a variety of synthetic, paper mill, and color photography dyes. A correlation between the amount of sugar used, biomass, and quality of protein produced was observed. This fungus is capable of reducing between 80% and 90% of synthetic dyes and 100% color photography effluents within 3 to 7 days, and 8 days, respectively. Significant effect of carbon sources was observed in the decolorization of the synthetic dye crystal violet, up to 90% in 3 to 7 days, by Aspergillus flavus. The organism showed better growth with fructose as the sole carbon source for the least sugar consumption. Therefore, this fungus can be used as an economical and eco-friendly tool to minimize the pollution by industries to a significant extent.

KEYWORDS:

• Aspergillus flavus
• bioremediation
• decolorization of dyes
• marine fungus
• synthetic dyes

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

P.L. and N.N.R.R. thank GITAM University for financial assistance.