Abstract

Release of coloured textile effluents is undesirable in the aquatic environment as they reduce light penetration, thereby affecting aquatic life and limits utilization of the water media. Microbial bioremediation is an alternative treatment option available other than the commonly employed physico-chemical and biological methods to treat these toxic effluents. This study investigated the potentials of certain selected effluent soil-adapted and non-adapted bacteria to decolourize an actual textile effluent that contained the diazo dye compound Reactive Black-B. Five effluent-adapted and four non-adapted bacterial isolates were tested. The results show that effluent-adapted strains were better candidates for decolourizing the effluent than the non-adapted species.

Key words: Textile effluent, water pollution, azo dye, Reactive Black-B, biodecolourization, microbial bioremediation, bacteria.