Astrazon Red dye decolorization by growing cells and pellets of Funalia trogii

The dye decolorization activity of fungal pellets has been compared with another method based on the decolorization of dye by growing cells. The pellet method was more advantageous than the growing cell method. The growing cells of F. trogii decolorized 21% of the dye in distilled water medium and 16% in stock basal medium in 24 h. On the other hand, Funalia trogii pellets rapidly decolorized the Astrazon Red dye, mono-azo textile dye, in 24 h, without any visual sorption of any dye to the pellets. The effect of various supplements on longevity of decolorization by free pellets was also tested. Glucose and cheese whey supplementation improved dye decolorization performance of the pellets and remained high and stable for 10 days. We also tested the dye decolorization ability of pellets immobilized on activated carbon. These pellets showed the stable dye decolorization activity during the repeated batch experiments. The study revealed that dye decolorization by pellets is more effective method than the growing cell method.