Decolorization potential of mixed microbial consortia for reactive and disperse textile dyestuffs

Four different aerobic mixed consortia collected from basins of wastewater streams coming out of dying plants of Crescent Textile (CT), Sitara Textile (ST), Chenab Fabrics (CF) and Noor Fatima Textile (NF), Faisalabad, Pakistan were applied for decolorization of Drimarene Orange K-GL, Drimarene Brilliant Red K-4BL, Foron Yellow SE4G and Foron Blue RDGLN for 10 days using the shake flask technique. CT culture showed the best decolorization potential on all dyestuffs followed by ST, NF and CF, respectively. CT could completely decolorize all dyes within 3-5 days. ST cultures showed effective decolorization potential on Foron Yellow SE4G and Drimarene Brilliant Red K-4BL but complete color removal was achieved after 4 and 7 days, respectively. NF culture showed 100% decolorization efficiencies on Foron Yellow SE4G and Foron Blue RDGLN but it took comparatively longer time periods (5-7 days). Where as, the NF culture had decolorized only 40% and 50% of Drimarene orange and red, respectively, after 10 days. CF caused complete decolorization of Foron Blue RDGLN and Drimarene Brilliant Red K-4BL after 4 and 8 days, respectively but it showed poor performance on other two dyes.