Bioremediation concepts for treatment of dye containing wastewater: a review

Synthetic dyes are extensively used in wide range of industries amongst which textile processing industries are the major consumers. Large amounts of dyes are lost in wastewaters of these industries during dyeing and subsequent washing steps of textiles. These dyes are resistant to de gradation by conventional wastewater treatment plants and are released into environment untreated thus causing pollution of surface and ground waters in the areas of the world harboring such industries. Presence of color in wastewaters has become major environmental concern and stringent discharge standards are being enforced on release of colored wastewaters in environment. The seriousness of the problem is apparent from the magnitude of the research done in this field in last decade. Increasing number of microorganisms are being described for their ability to decolorize and degrade artificial dyes and novel bioremediation approaches for treatment dye bearing wastewaters are being worked out. In this review we have investigated potential microbial processes for developing feasible remediation technology to combat environmental pollution due to dye bearing wastewaters.