Screening and identification of newly isolated Pseudomonas sp. for biodegrading the textile azo dye C.I. Procion Red...

To test the potential of a newly isolated strain of Pseudomonas sp., and its optimization for carrying out bioremediation of textile azo dye Procion Red H-3B.

The isolation of the bacterial strain was done from a textile waste dumping site, followed by screening techniques to study the decolourization of an azo dye. The isolated pure culture was selected by its ability to form clear zones. The biochemical tests gave partial confirmation of the isolates, and the phylogenic analysis made the complete confirmation by 16S rRNA sequencing.

The identified strain belongs to the genus Pseudomonas. The phylogenic analysis confirmed that the strain belongs to Pseudomonas stutzeri. The culture exhibited maximum decolourization at pH between 6 and 8, the optimum at pH 7·5 and 37°C temperature. A maximum of 96% discolouration was observed at 50 mg l^-1 of initial dye concentration after 24 h of incubation period. At a dye concentration equally or greater than 600 mg l^-1 , the colour removal was drastically decreased to 30%. The use of fructose at 1% (w/v) and peptone 0·5% (w/v) concentration for 24 h of incubation, as carbon and nitrogen source, showed luxuriant decolourization. The results showed that the Pseudomonas sp. holds immense potential in treating textile effluents containing the dye Procion red H-3B.

Pseudomonas is a known organism in bioremediation of various textile dyes but not much has being reported about the role of P. stutzeri in the bioremediation of azo dyes. This study revealed the immense potential of this strain in degrading the azo dyes.

The strain shows prospective for industrial application in the field of textile wastewater treatment. Bioremediation is comparatively cheaper and more effective treatment, thus holds promising future for a cleaner environment.