Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
DOI 10.1007/s11157-014-9344-4
REVIEWS
Microbial biotechnology for decolorization of textile
wastewaters
Muhammad Imran • David E. Crowley • Azeem Khalid
Sabir Hussain • Muhammad Waseem Mumtaz •
Muhammad Arshad
Published online: 19 July 2014
Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014
Abstract Wastewater originating from the textile
industry is one of the major sources of pollution for
surface and groundwater bodies in countries where
textiles and other dye-products are produced. Along
with dyes, textile wastewaters also contain varying
amounts of metals/metalloids, salts and organic pollu-
tants. Moreover, these wastewaters have high temper-
atures and varying pH. Various physico-chemical and
biological strategies have been devised to remove dye
contaminants from such wastewaters. However, bio-
technological approaches have attracted worldwide
attention for their relative cost-effectiveness and envi-
ronmentally friendly nature. Most biotechnological
M. Imran (&)
M. W. Mumtaz
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of
Gujrat, Gujrat 50700, Pakistan
e-mail: dr.muhammadimran@uog.edu.pk
D. E. Crowley
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of
California Riverside, Riverside, CA 92507, USA
A. Khalid
Department of Environmental Sciences, PMAS Arid
Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46300, Pakistan
S. Hussain
Department of Environmental Sciences, Government
College University, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
M. Arshad
Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University
of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
•
approaches rely on the use of microbes that have the
potential to enzymatically degrade and decolorize dye-
containing textile effluents. During recent years, several
microbial cultures as well as microbial enzymes have
been characterized and used for removal of dyes from
simulated wastewaters having defined chemical com-
positions. However, there are still many challenges in
scaling up microbial and enzymatic technologies for
decolorization of raw textile wastewater that contain
metals/metalloids, salts and other toxic compounds. The
present review article summarizes the findings of recent
studies conducted on decolorization of raw textile
wastewaters. To the best of our knowledge, this is the
only review reporting the biodegradation of azo dyes in
raw textile effluents.
Keywords Decolorization
Microbes
Textile
effluents
Physico-chemical properties
1 Introduction
Textile dyeing industries consume large quantities of
water that are returned to the environment as waste-
water (Andleeb et al. 2010). According to one
estimate, about 40–65 L of wastewater is discharged
per kg of fabric during the dyeing process (Manu and
Chaudhari 2002). This water contains a large amount
of residual synthetic dyes with varying concentrations
in the effluents depending upon the type of dye
123
74
molecule (Cervantes and Santos 2011). Azo dyes
comprise one of the largest classes of synthetic dyes
that are widely used in the textile industry and
represent about 80 % of commercial dyes produced
in the world with an annual production of 7 9 105
tonnes (Fu and Viraraghavan 2001). O’Neill et al.
(1999) reported that the concentration of dyes in
wastewater from textile dyeing units can range from
10 to 250 mg L-1. However, Pierce (1994) reported
the discharge of dyes in wastewater at concentrations
as high as 1,500 mg L-1. The release of these dyes in
large quantities is a serious threat to the environment.
Besides the aesthetic problems associated with con-
tamination of water bodies, dyes in textile wastewater
are known to reduce the rate of photosynthesis of
aquatic plants (Roy et al. 2010a). Some dyes and their
degradation products are also mutagenic and carcin-
ogenic, which poses a threat to human and animal
health (Carneiro et al. 2010). In developing countries,
textile wastewater containing azo dyes is often used to
irrigate crops, which adds harmful azo dyes to
agricultural soils. These dyes may alter the biological
properties of soil, including the composition of
microbial communities and enzyme activities (Topac
et al. 2009). It has also been reported that the azo dyes
are toxic to plants (Ayed et al. 2011). Keeping the
widespread use and harmful effects of azo dyes in
view, their removal from the wastewaters is a topic of
interest in recent research.
Although a number of physico-chemical methods
are used to treat dye contaminated wastewater in
developed countries, they are rarely used in devel-
oping countries where textile products are produced
in hundreds of small factories. Physical methods for
removing color from textile wastewater involve the
use of biosorbents, coagulants and filtration tech-
niques. Biosorbents such as activated carbon, chito-
san, chitin, alumina, silica gel, zeolite, clays, peat,
sawdust, rice husk, maize cobs, orange peels, fly
ash, red mud and bagasse pith are used to remove
dyes from wastewater (Gupta 2009). However, the
disposal of solid adsorbents after treatment itself is a
big problem because they contain toxic dyes on their
surfaces. Similarly, the use of chemical methods
(ozonation, Fenton oxidation, electrochemical oxi-
dation, ultrasonic chemical oxidation and irradiation
oxidation) has limited applicability in the treatment
of colored wastewater due to high cost of the
radiation, electricity and ozone (Pearce et al. 2003;
123
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
Esteves and Silva 2004). Alternatively, the use of
microorganisms for decolorizing textile wastewater is
considered relatively cost effective. Contrary to
chemical treatment of wastewater, where the appli-
cation of chemicals on a continuous basis is required,
microorganisms are applied once to the wastewater
because they can multiply further during growth on
the dye molecules. In addition, biological approaches
are environmentally friendly because they completely
eliminate pollutants from the environment. Azo dye
decolorizing microorganisms have been reported to
produce a variety of enzymes including azoreductase,
laccase, peroxidases, NADH–DCIP reductase, tyros-
inase, MG reductase and aminopyrine N-demethylase
(Telke et al. 2008; Zhuo et al. 2011; Asgher et al.
2012; Miranda et al. 2013). Among these, azoreduc-
tases, laccases and peroxidases are the main enzymes
responsible for the decolorization of azo dyes
(Chacko and Subramaniam 2011).
Studies with simulated wastewater show that the
rate of degradation of the dye by microbial cultures
and purified enzymes varies depending on the
structure of the dye molecule (Ogugbue and Sawidis
2011), salt content (Khalid et al. 2012; Meng et al.
2012; Hussain et al. 2013), the type and concentra-
tion of metals (Gopinath et al. 2011; Cui et al. 2011),
and the pH and temperature of the wastewater (Telke
et al. 2008; Saratale et al. 2009; Hussain et al. 2013).
Textile effluents contain a variety of azo dyes of
various structures, lots of salts and various metal
ions (Environmental Protection Agency 1997; Alins-
afi et al. 2006). Furthermore, wastewater streams
containing dyestuffs are characterized by variable pH
and high temperatures. Thus, the degradation effi-
ciency of various microbial cultures may be sup-
pressed when applied to the raw effluents. In this
review, we evaluated the potential of microbial
processes for the treatment of raw effluents dis-
charged by textile units.
2 Physico-chemical characteristics of textile raw
wastewater
Raw wastewater from the textile industry contains a
variety of structurally different azo dyes, salts and
metals, along with other compounds that make raw
wastewater very different to decolorize from
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
simulated wastewater containing simple dye mixtures
and sodium chloride (Alinsafi et al. 2006; Saratale
2012). These include a number of different com-
pounds, including polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), carboxy
methyl cellulose, surfactants, organic processing
acids, sulfide, formaldehyde, detergents, and oil and
dispersants that are used either to give strength to the
fiber or to improve the adsorption of dyes on the fiber
(Rosli and Habibah 2006). These pollutants are not
readily biodegradable and can be toxic to the micro-
bial cultures. Some characteristics of raw textile
wastewater that are important from the viewpoint of
decolorization are discussed in detail here.
2.1 Chemical diversity of azo dyes in textile
effluent
A variety of structurally different azo dyes are used
in the textile industry that together generate waste-
water streams that are extremely variable in compo-
sition (Correia et al. 1994). According to one
estimate, more than 2,000 different azo dyes are in
use worldwide (Vijaykumar et al. 2007). These dyes
vary in the number of azo groups, position and type
of the substituent and molecular mass. Biodegrada-
tion of azo dyes is directly dependent on these
features. For example, Nigam et al. (1996) reported
that the dyes with methyl, methoxy, nitro or sulpho
groups are difficult to be degraded as compared with
dyes having hydroxyl or amino groups. Similarly,
high molecular weight dyes are degraded slowly as
compared to the low molecular weight dyes. Further,
it is documented that the direct dyes are readily
degraded than acid and reactive dyes (Saratale et al.
2009). Thus, the structure of the azo compound is an
important factor to consider for the treatment of
textile raw wastewater that can seriously affect the
performance of microbial cultures. Due to the
structural diversity of dyes, decolorization of textile
raw effluent is more difficult than the simulated
wastewater of defined composition. Therefore, bio-
augmentation of the raw textile effluents with the
microbes having the potential to decolorize a wide
range of azo dyes should be more efficient than the
microbial cultures capable of using a limited number
of substrates. Alternatively, application of microbial
consortia with high catabolic diversity might also
serve as a good way to treat wastewater having a
variable composition.
75
2.2 Soluble salts
Along with the different types of dyes, substantial
amounts of salts are also released into colored waste-
water of textile processing and finishing industries
(Environmental Protection Agency 1997). NaNO3,
NaCl and Na2SO4 salts are generally added to dye baths
for improving the fixation of dyes on fabrics, and to
adjust the ionic strength of the dye baths. According to
Carliell et al. (1998), about 40–100 g L-1 of salt (e.g.
NaNO3) is used during the dyeing process, which results
in wastewater having high electrical conductivities
(EC). The electrical conductivity refers to the ability of a
salt containing solution to conduct electricity, which is
directly correlated with the concentration of salt and is
easily measured using a conductivity meter. Ali et al.
(2006) analyzed ten different effluents from textile units
in Faisalabad, Pakistan and EC values varied between
5.5 and 33.5 dS m-1. Roy et al. (2010a) also showed
high levels of EC (2.2–6.0 dS m-1) in the effluent of
Harunur Rashid (H.R) Textile Mills Ltd., Savar Upaz-
illa. Phugare et al. (2011) documented that the effluent
from Ichalkaranji, India had the Na concentration up to
89 mg L-1. Similarly, Diwaniyan et al. (2010) analyzed
raw textile effluent and observed the Na concentration
was as high as 2,440 mg L-1. Abraha et al. (2014)
determined the sulfate, chloride and nitrate levels in the
effluent of Almeda textile industry. The results showed
that the concentration of sulfate ranged from 114 to
226 mg L-1, chlorides from 2,529 to 3,391 mg L-1
and nitrates from 79 to 976 mg L-1.
High concentrations of salts in the dye-containing
effluent can reduce the rate of biodegradation of dyes as
salt can cause plasmolysis and reduce biological activity
(Manu and Chaudhari 2003; Gopinath et al. 2011).
Nitrate and sulfate are also electrophilic and act as
electron acceptors in anaerobic conditions, so they can
compete with the dye molecule for electrons from
azoreductases, causing negative effect on the decolor-
ization process (Meng et al. 2012). Asgher et al. (2010)
reported that supplementation of textile effluent with
NH4NO3 and (NH4)2SO4 at a concentration of 0.2 %
significantly reduced the decolorization efficiency of
fungus Ganoderma lucidum IBL-05 compared with the
control. Meng et al. (2012) reported that the addition of
NaNO3 (0.43 %) in simulated wastewater containing
Acid Red 27 delayed the decolonization by Shewanella
aquimarina as the time to achieve complete decoloriza-
tion of the dye increased from 4 to 12 h. Carliell et al.
123
76
(1998) tested the effect of nitrate and sulfate salts on the
decolorization of Reactive Red 141 dye and found that
the reduction was dependent on the concentration of
nitrate while the presence of sulfate did not affect
decolorizing activity. The order of reduction was
nitrate [ Reactive Red 141 [ sulfate. In contrast,
ammonium sulfate (0.2 %) had a significant positive
effect in reducing effluent color (Jin et al. 2007).
Decolorization by Trametes versicolor was increased
with increasing concentrations of ammonium nitrate
(Mehna et al. 1995). Under anaerobic conditions,
sulphate is reduced to sulphide which acts as a source
of electron donor and can stimulate the decolorization
process. Furthermore, halophillic and halotolerant spe-
cies can effectively decolorize dye solution at high salt
concentrations (Guo et al. 2008).
2.3 Heavy metals
Colored textile effluents also contain significant
amounts of toxic heavy metals and vary in type and
concentration of metals. The amount of heavy metals
present in a particular effluent is associated with the use
of metal complexed dyes or chemicals containing
metals that are used during the dyeing process (Correia
et al. 1994; Li and Guthrie 2010). According to one
estimate, about 30 % metal complexed dyes are used in
dyeing wool and 40 % for dyeing polyamide (Hunger
2003). Therefore, dyes are considered a major source
of various metals, including Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Hg, Ni,
Mg, Fe and Mn that are discharged in the raw textile
effluents (Saranraj et al. 2010). Metals have been
studied for their effect on the discoloration of different
azo dyes by microbial cultures (Couto and Herrera
2006; Seesuriyachan et al. 2007; Cui et al. 2011;
Gopinath et al. 2011; Hussain et al. 2013). In general,
metals are found to inhibit microbial growth and
enzymatic activities, however, various microbial
strains have different levels of tolerance to metal ions
in wastewater (Sharma et al. 2008).
2.4 High temperature
A high temperature is necessary to increase the
efficiency of fixation of the dyes on the fabrics. This
results in the release of wastewater with high temper-
ature at the outlet of the dyeing units. According to
Abu-Ghunmi and Jamrah (2006), the temperature of
textile wastewater can be as high as 70 °C. This results
123
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
in inhibition of microbial activities in the treatment
plants (Telke et al. 2008; Saratale et al. 2009). The
majority of microbial species degrade dyes at faster
rate in a temperature range of 30–40 °C. However, a
few studies have reported that thermophiles can
degrade azo dyes at high temperatures (Santos et al.
2005; Hu et al. 2009; Gursahani and Gupta 2011).
Santos et al. (2005) observed that the complete
decolorization of Reactive Red 2 dye (0.3 mM) was
achieved within 3 days using thermophilic anaerobic
consortia. Likewise, the bacterium, Anoxybacillus
rupiensis was able to decolorize 75 % colored raw
effluent at 60 °C (Gursahani and Gupta 2011). Overall,
high temperatures reduce the rate of decolorization.
Therefore, a cooling pre-treatment is often required to
reduce the temperature for efficient removal of azo
dyes from raw wastewater by biological means.
2.5 Variable pH
Another important characteristic of textile wastewater
is fluctuating pH (Aslam et al. 2004). This varies
depending on the particular dye process going on
within the industry. It may be highly alkaline, neutral
or acidic depending on the nature of the salts and dyes.
Yusuff and Sonibare (2004) recorded the pH of five
different textile units and interestingly, the pH of all
samples was more than 10. Ali et al. (2009) reported
pH values of textile effluents up to 13. Contrary to
these findings, Diwaniyan et al. (2010) reported a very
low pH (2.5) of colored effluents. It has been
documented that the pH of the dye-containing waste-
water can change the rate of degradation of the dyes
(Hussain et al. 2013). Therefore, either the pH of the
wastewater should be adjusted according to the
microbial culture or else requires the use of microbial
strains that are capable of degrading azo dyes effec-
tively over a wide pH range.
2.6 High biological oxygen demand (BOD)
and chemical oxygen demand (COD)
Biological oxygen demand refers to the amount of
oxygen that would be consumed if all the organics are
oxidized by the bacteria and protozoa (ReVelle and
ReVelle 1988), while the COD is the amount of oxygen
consumed for oxidizing organic and inorganic contam-
inants chemically. Normally high values of BOD and
COD are observed in the textile wastewater. Jang et al.
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
(2007) measured very high values of COD
(2,300 mg L-1) and BOD (800 mg L-1) for textile
wastewater. Yusuff and Sonibare (2004) observed COD
and BOD values in the range of 1,067–2,430 and
163–645 mg L-1, respectively for textile effluents.
Telke et al. (2010) recorded up to 1,000 mg L-1 COD
and 200 mg L-1 BOD in textile effluents. Generally,
organic compounds which are easily decomposed by
microbes can promote the rate of dye removal from
wastewater by serving as source of reducing equivalent
(NADH, NADPH) which are required for the azoreduc-
tases to reduce azo bonds. Unfortunately, textile waste-
water contains organics (oil, waxes, PVA and
formaldehyde) which are not easily decomposed by
microbes and thus their presence in wastewater can
suppress microbial activities.
3 Biotechnologies for the treatment of colored
textile wastewater
Over the past two decades, a number of azo dyes
degrading microbial strains belonging to different
genera of bacteria and fungi have been isolated. These
include strains of Alternaria (Chakraborty et al. 2013),
Armillaria (Hadibarata et al. 2012), Bacillus (Dawkar
et al. 2010), Comamonas (Bayoumi et al. 2010),
Enterococcus (Bafana et al. 2009), Lysinibacillus
(Saratale 2012), Pichia (Zheng et al. 2013), Planococcus
(Ma et al. 2013), Pleurotus (Vishwakarma et al. 2012),
Pseudomonas (Hussain et al. 2013), Psychrobacter
(Khalid et al. 2012), Rhodopseudomonas (Liu et al.
2006), Shewanella (Khalid et al. 2008) and Staphylo-
coccus (Khalid et al. 2012). Previous studies show that
most of the work was performed using synthetic
wastewater. In recent years, a few studies have been
conducted to develop strategies for biological treatment
of actual wastewater generated by the textile industry. In
this section, the potential of microbial processes to
remove dyes from textile raw wastewater is discussed.
3.1 Mode of action and microbial enzymology
for decolorizing colored wastewater
Azo dyes have been found to be decolorized predom-
inantly under anaerobic conditions. Complete decom-
position of azo dyes by microbial cells occurs in two
steps. In the first step, colorless metabolites are
produced by the reductive cleavage of the azo bond
77
under anaerobic conditions. These metabolites are
then decomposed in a second step that requires
oxidized conditions. Thus, anoxic conditions are
necessary for the decolorization of azo dyes. Regard-
less of aerobic or anoxic conditions, the microbial
biodegradation of azo dyes is mediated by enzymat-
ically catalyzed reactions. In recent years, various
enzymes such as azoreductases, laccases, lignin per-
oxidases, Mn peroxidases, DCIP–NADH reductases,
tyrosinase, aminopyrine N-demethylase and riboflavin
reductases have been reported to be involved in the
degradation of azo dyes (Jadhav et al. 2009; Shedbal-
kar and Jadhav 2011; Hadibarata et al. 2012; Zheng
et al. 2014). Although a number of enzymes have been
found to be involved in the dye decolorization
(Table 1), here we will focus on azoreductases,
laccases and peroxidases, which are the primary
enzymes that function for degradation of azo dyes.
3.1.1 Azoreductases
Azoreductases are considered to be the main degrad-
ing enzymes produced by bacteria. Azoreductases
cause cleavage of azo bonds (–N = N–), generating
aromatic amines that are then degraded into CO2 and
H2O under aerobic conditions (Chang and Kuo 2000).
Azo bond cleavage is actually a four-electron four-
proton reduction reaction (Nam and Renganathan
2000). However, the reaction mechanism by which
azoreductases transfer electrons to the dye molecules
is not clear, and may involve both directly and indirect
reduction. With a direct mechanism, azoreductases are
proposed to physically interact with the dye in order to
transfer an electron from a reducing equivalent to the
azo dye molecule (Bragger et al. 1997). Indirectly
reduction occurs when azoreductases transfer elec-
trons to a redox mediator that serves as a taxi that
transfers electrons to the dye molecules (Dafale et al.
2008). Electron mediators within the cell include
NADH, NADPH, FAD, FMN etc., which accept
electrons from the respiratory chain, transferring it to
the azo dye molecule to break azo linkage. Azoreduc-
tase could be dependent on NADH (Misal et al. 2011)
or flavin (Chen et al. 2004).
Azoreductases are flavoproteins in structure and are
very diverse in nature and function (Ryan et al. 2014).
Mostly these enzymes are released constitutively,
however, sometimes they have also been found to be
induced in the presence of dye (Mazumder et al. 1999;
123
 78
Table 1 Localization of azo dye degrading enzymes
Source Enzymes tested Most active enzyme Comments Reference

123
Ganoderma sp. En3 Laccase, lignin peroxidase and Laccase Enzyme was secreted out of the cell membrane as culture Zhuo et al.
Mn-peroxidase supernatant was highly capable of decolorizing the azo (2011)
dye. Further, its activity was enhanced up to 3.11 fold
during decolorization of the dye
Penicillium Lignin peroxidase, laccase, Lignin peroxidase Both cell extract and culture supernatant showed Lignin Shedbalkar
ochrochloron tyrosinase, NADH–DCIP peroxidase activity. It was observed that activity of lignin and Jadhav
MTCC 517 reductase and Aminopyrine N- peroxidase was induced as activity was incremented from (2011)
demethylase 0.001 to 0.01 Units min-1 mL-1
Enterobacter sp. Azoreductase Azoreductase Extracellular inducible azoreductase was found to be most Chen and
GY-1 likely involved in the breakdown of the dye Chen (2011)
Pseudomonas putida Azoreductase Azoreductase Presence of dye incremented the activity of the enzyme Yang et al.
WLY which was released outside the cell membrane (2011)
Bacillus sp. VUS Lignin peroxidase, tyrosinase, Lignin peroxidase, tyrosinase, Activities of all the cytoplasmic enzymes were increased Dawkar et al.
NADH–DCIP reductase, NADH-DCIP reductase, with spiking of media with dye (2010)
azoreductase and riboflavin azoreductase and riboflavin
reductase reductase
Lactobacillus casei Azoreductase Azoreductase The enzyme was localized in the cytoplasm Seesuriyachan
TISTR 1500 et al. (2007)
Galactomyces Lignin peroxidase and laccase Lignin peroxidase and laccase Both cell extract and supernatant showed decolorization Jadhav et al.
geotrichum MTCC activities, Riboflavin reductase, activities capability. On spiking the medium with dye substrate, (2009)
1360 NADH–DCIP reductase, AND lignin peroxidase and lacase activities were increased
and ANH.
Rhizobium Azoreductase, lignin peroxidase, Azoreductase, lignin peroxidase, Enzymes activities were measured both in cell cultures and Telke et al.
radiobacterMTCC DCIP reductase, MG reductase DCIP reductase, MG reductase cell extract. These activities were increased by the (2008)
8161 and Aminopyrine N-demethylasef and Aminopyrine N- presence of the dye substrate
demethylasef
Bacillus cereus Azoreductase Azoreductase Decolorization activity of enzyme was only limited to Deng et al.
cytoplasmic fraction as supernatant culture and membrane (2008)
fractions did not show any enzyme activity
Basidiomycetous Laccase, Mn-peroxidase and lignin Laccase Enzyme in culture supernatant was effective in decolorizing D’Souza et al.
isolate, NIOCC # peroxidase the dye and its activity was increased with time during (2006)
2a decolorization of simulated as well as raw textile effluent
Caulobacter Azoreductase Azoreductase Semi-constitutive extracellular enzyme was found Mazumder
subvibrioides strain responsible of the dye decolorization et al. (1999)
C7-D
Sphingomonas sp. St Azoreductase Azoreductase Both membrane-bound and the cytoplasmic azoreductases Kudlich et al.
n BN6 showed decolorization activity (1997)
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
Chen and Chen 2011). These enzymes are both
specific and broad substrate spectrum (Misal et al.
2011) and are either localized in the cytoplasm
(Jalandoni-Buan et al. 2010), bound to the plasma
membrane (Kudlich et al. 1997) or secreted outside the
cell (Dafale et al. 2008; Chen and Chen 2011). Telke
et al. (2008) observed decolorization of reactive red
141 with both cytoplasmic and extracellular azore-
ductases, whereas, no membrane-associated activity
was observed. Yang et al. (2011) reported decoloriza-
tion of reactive brilliant red X-3B dye via extracellular
azoreductase produced by Pseudomonas putida WLY,
while Kudlich et al. (1997) reported azoreductase
activity was associated with the membrane fraction of
Sphingomonas sp. strain BN6. These enzymes are
often less effective under aerobic conditions, probably
due to the competition of oxygen for electrons under
oxidized conditions (Saratale et al. 2009). However,
some microbial strains produce azoreductases that can
effectively decolorize dyes, even in the presence of
oxygen. For instance, Citrobacter sp. strain KCTC
18061P is able to decolorize raw textile effluent both
under shaking and static condition (Jang et al. 2007).
3.1.2 Laccases
Laccases are Cu-dependent dye degrading enzymes
that use oxygen to degrade lignin and other aromatic
compounds. They are widely distributed in nature and
have been reported in plants, fungi, bacteria and even
in insects (Baldrian 2006; Hoegger et al. 2006).
Although there are several reports on the removal of
dyes from wastewater using both bacterial and fungal
laccases, laccases secreted by white rot fungi are the
best studied and are considered as the most effective
laccases for degrading dyes. These enzymes are
mostly extracellular and unlike azoreductases decol-
orize the dye contaminated water without producing
hazardous intermediates such as aromatic amines. In
addition, laccases degrade aromatic amines, which is
an additional advantage over azoreductases. Oxidation
of the azo dyes begins with electron abstraction, which
is transferred to oxygen by the laccase. After this, a
nucleophilic water molecule attacks the dye molecule,
causing break down of dye molecule with the gener-
ation of one proton and one molecule of nitrogen.
While laccases are constitutive enzymes, secretion has
been reported to be stimulated in the presence of dye in
79
water (D’Souza et al. 2006). These enzymes have
broad substrate specificity and are thus capable of
decolorizing colored wastewater containing structur-
ally different azo dyes (Saparrat et al. 2006). Like
azoreductases, laccases also degrade azo dyes in the
presence as well as absence of redox mediators (Moya
et al. 2010). These redox mediators are low molecular
weight compounds that are oxidized by laccase into
stable radicals that diffuse away from enzyme and
oxidize the substrate. Thus, these redox mediators
have stimulatory effect on dye degradation and
improve the efficacy of laccases (Grassi et al. 2011).
3.1.3 Peroxidases
Along with azoreductases and laccases, peroxidases
are also well known for their role in azo dye
degradation (Husain 2010). Peroxidases are heme-
containing oxidoreductases that have been reported in
plants, microorganisms and animals (Kanayama et al.
2002; Duarte-Vázquez et al. 2003). The literature
shows that both bacterial and fungal peroxidases can
degrade azo dyes (Jadhav et al. 2009; Shedbalkar and
Jadhav 2011). As with laccases, fungal peroxidases viz
Mn peroxidases (MnP), Lignin peroxidases (LiP),
tyrosinase are very important for dye degradation.
Lignin peroxidase has been used to mineralize a
variety of recalcitrant aromatic compounds including
azo dyes (Gottlieb et al. 2003). Both extra and intra
cellular peroxidases are involved in dye degradation.
Unlike laccases, peroxidases need H2O2 as terminal
electron acceptor instead of oxygen. The mechanism
of peroxidases is similar to that for laccases and leads
to dye degradation with no production of toxic
aromatic amines.
3.2 Potential of microbial processes to decolorize
raw textile wastewater
A substantial amount of work has been done on the
isolation and characterization of microbial strains for
the degradation of dyes from simulated wastewater
(Liu et al. 2006; Bafana et al. 2009; Khalid et al. 2012;
Hadibarata et al. 2012; Hussain et al. 2013; Zheng
et al. 2013) and real textile wastewater (Jin et al. 2007;
Dayaram and Dasgupta 2008; Jadhav et al. 2010;
Saratale et al. 2010; Tamboli et al. 2010; Phugare et al.
2011; Zhuo et al. 2011; Charumathi and Das 2012).
123
80
Altogether, these studies show that the rate of
decolorization is significantly reduced in real waste-
water as compared to simulated wastewater (Jin et al.
2007; Dayaram and Dasgupta 2008; Phugare et al.
2011).
3.2.1 Wastewater treatment by pure microbial
cultures
A number of microbial strains including bacteria,
fungi, yeast and algae have been reported to be capable
of decolorizing raw textile wastewater having diverse
characteristics. For example, Charumathi and Das
(2012) reported that Candida tropicalis could remove
color, BOD (from 856 to 200 mg L-1), COD (from
1,693 to 500 mg L-1), total dissolved solids (TDS)
(from 5,765 to 1,600 mg L-1), total suspended solids
(from 3,768 to 1,400 mg L-1) and metal ions from the
wastewater. The TDS term is used to describe the
amount of inorganic and organic present in solution. In
contrast, totals suspended solid (TSS) refers to mate-
rials, including organic and inorganic, that are sus-
pended in the water. Cyanobacteria also have been
tested for decolorization of raw textile effluents (Ali
et al. 2011; Henciya et al. 2013). Although different
microbial strains have been isolated and tested for
decolorization of raw textile wastewater, in this review
we focus primarily on the role of fungi and bacteria
that have been applied predominantly for dye
decolorization.
3.2.1.1 Fungi Various strains of fungi have been
reported to be used in wastewater treatment to remove
dye contaminants (Table 2). Fungi, particularly white
rot fungi, are highly capable of degrading a large
number of xenobiotic compounds including dyes
(Spadaro et al. 1992; Wesenberg et al. 2003). Zhuo
et al. (2011) found that the application of white rot
fungus Ganoderma sp. En3 to textile wastewater was
highly effective and removed more than 90 % color.
Similarly, treatment of textile effluent with
Irpexlacteus could remove 93 % color (Shin 2004).
Another white rot fungus, T. versicolor, demonstrated
a high capacity for decolorizing raw textile effluents as
60 % decolorization was observed by Blánquez et al.
(2008) and 92 % by Amaral et al. (2004). Assadi et al.
(2001) observed 98 % while Sedighi et al. (2009)
observed 78 % decline in the initial color of the textile
wastewater by the application of the Phanerochaete
123
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
chrysosporium. Similarly, various species of
Aspergillus are able to degrade azo dyes in
wastewater, such as Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus
lentulu, and Aspergillus fumigatus XC6 (Assadi and
Jahangiri 2001; Kaushik and Malik 2010; Jin et al.
2007). Jang et al. (2007) documented rapid
decolorization of dye effluent using Citrobacter sp.
strain KCTC 18061P. Application of Clitocybula
dusenii significantly reduced the color intensity of
wastewater (Wesenberg et al. 2003). Miranda et al.
(2013) recently reported the potential of two fungal
strains, Curvularia lunata URM6179 and P.
chrysosporium URM 6181, to decolorize textile
effluent in a batch type bioreactor. Other fungal
strains, including Irpex lacteus, Thelephora sp., I.
lacteus, Pleurotus flabellatus, Pleurotus florida, G.
lucidum IBL-05, Basidiomycetous PKC-1,
Bjerkandera adusta (Willdenow) P. Karsten MUT
3060 were also capable of decolorizing raw
wastewaters of textile industry (Selvam et al. 2003;
Shin 2004; Nilsson et al. 2006; Perumal et al. 2007;
Asgher et al. 2010; Diwaniyan et al. 2010; Anastasi
et al. 2011). Although fungi have been found to have
the potential for decolorization of textile wastewaters,
there are some limitations in their large-scale
application for wastewater treatment. For example,
fungi have been reported to require a lower pH as well
as relatively longer hydraulic retention times for
complete decolorization of dyes (Swamy and
Ramsay 1999; Chen et al. 2003; Karigar et al. 2006;
Rajamohan and Rajasimman 2012). The requirement
of a low pH by fungi precludes their use for many
dye containing wastewaters have been reported that
have alkaline pH (Roy et al. 2010b; Nordin et al.
2013). Fungal based consortia are also not preferred
for treatment of the wastewaters because many
fungal strains have been reported to inhibit the
growth and activity of other useful organisms (Chen
et al. 2003). Similarly, the use of white rot fungi has
been reported to have a broad-spectrum application
in wastewater treatment, but has also been reported
to be limited due to their sensitivity to shear stress,
their aeration requirement and competition with other
indigenous microbial communities (Valentin et al.
2007).
3.2.1.2 Bacteria In recent years, bioaugmentation
with pure bacterial cultures has shown great potential
for decolorization of dyes in real wastewater released
 Table 2 Fungal decolorization of raw colored wastewater of textile industry
Fungi employed
Curvularia lunata URM6179 and
Phanerochaete chrysosporium
URM 6181
Mixed culture consisting
Pleurotusostreatus IBL- 02 and
Coriolusversicolor IBL-04
Ganoderma sp.En3
Penicillium ochrochloron MTCC
517
Bjerkandera adusta (Willdenow)
P. Karsten MUT 3060
123
Effluent characteristics Biotreatment time Comments Reference
(h)
BOD: [167 mg L-1 240 Laccase Lignin peroxidase and Mn-peroxidase producing Miranda et al. (2013)
-1 two fungal strains were found to decolorize and degrade
COD: 354 mg L
the textile dye effluents. However, the effluent treatment
with Phanerochaete chrysosporium URM 6181 resulted
in accumulation of a mutagenic metabolite,
whereas,Curvularia lunata URM6179 was found to
reduce the toxicity of the effluent
BOD: [200 mg L-1 240 Laccase, lignin peroxidase and Mn-peroxidase producing Asgher et al. (2012)
COD: 82 mg L-1 mixed fungal culture was capable of significant
decolorization of the textile industry effluent after 240 h
of incubation. COD and BOD were also found to be
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
considerably reduced over the incubation period
COD: 24,813.5 mg L-1 14 Laccase producing White-rot fungi, Ganoderma sp.En3 Zhuo et al. (2011)
TOC: 8,445.3 mg L-1 was highly effective in decolorizing simulated as well as
raw colored wastewater of textile industry. With fungal
pH: 9.2
treatment, effluent was decolorized up to 91.38 % with
significant reduction in COD (65 %) and BOD (60 %).
Laccase activity was incremented while activity of LiP
and MnP was not even detected during decolorization.
This may imply that laccase is principally involved in the
biodegreation of dyes
COD: 1,440 mg L-1 36 Color of simulated wastewater prepared from malachite Shedbalkar and Jadhav
BOD: 836 mg L-1 green dye and raw colored textile wastewater was (2011)
disappeared through Bioaugmentation. About 95 % of the
pH: 8.5
initial color of textile effluent was removed through
application of Penicillium ochrochloron. Likewise,
bioaugmentation also reduced the COD and BOD of the
wastewater from 1,440–1,040 to 836–516 mg L-1,
respectively. Peroxidase activity was increased during
decolorization of simulated wastewater which implies
that peroxidases may induced by dyes
COD: 145 mg L-1 24 The fungal treatment caused a good decolorization of the Anastasi et al. (2011)
pH: 8.1 raw colored wastewater and brought the color values
within the threshold limits
81

Table 2 continued
Fungi employed
123
Aspergillus lentulus
Aspergillus niger
Ascomycetes
Basidiomycetous fungus- PCK-3
Ganoderma lucidum IBL-05
Phanerochaete chrysosporium
82
Effluent characteristics Biotreatment time Comments Reference
(h)
COD: 132 mg L-1 72 Biostimulation was found necessary for decolorization of Kaushik and Malik
-1 the effluent as neither the native microbes nor the (2010)
BOD: 58 mg L
Aspergillus lentulus was able to grow and decolorize the
pH: 8.11
effluent in the absence of nutrients. However,
EC: 2.27 mmhos cm-1 supplementation of the effluent with nutrient resulted in
56 % decolorization with inocula under sterilized
conditions. Further synergistic interaction was observed
with indigenous microbes because under unsterilized
conditions, decolorization was higher (65 %)
COD: 6410 mg L-1 – Application of Aspergillus niger was effective as near 50 % Agarry and Ayobami
-1 dye content and up to 90 % reduction in both COD and (2011)
BOD: 5,200 mg L
BOD of raw wastewater was recorded
pH: 10
TSS: 2820 mg L-1
TDS: 4,560 mg L-1
TS: 7,380
Chlorides: 916
COD: 20,000 mg L-1 48 Bioaugmentation removed the color up to70 % and also Verma et al. (2010)
BOD: 330 mg L-1 caused significant reduction in COD, BOD and toxicity of
the effluent
pH: 2.5
TS: 0.51 g L-1
Na?: 0.013 g L-1
Cl-: 191.7 g L-1
pH: 2.5 192 In response to exogenous application of dye degrading Diwaniyan et al. (2010)
3.2 % chlorides fungus, Basidiomycetous fungus- PCK-3 removed 53 %
color of the wastewater of textile industry
0.36 % sulfates
pH: 4.8–7.1 48 Effluent of different industries having different colors was Asgher et al. (2010)
treated with whit rot fungus Ganoderma Lucidum IBL-05.
Although, all effluents were decolorized to good extent,
but effluent of Arzoo textile industry was decorized much
(97 %)
COD: 1,500–1,600 mg L-1 120 Application of fungi capable of producing lignolytic Sedighi et al. (2009)
BOD: 124 mg L-1 enzymes such as LiP and MnP showed good potential to
decolorize (up to 78 %) unsterile effluent and to reduce
pH: 5
COD (25 %) in a packed-bed. In addition, performance of
the fungi was improved in repeated-batch operations
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
 Table 2 continued
Fungi employed Effluent Biotreatment time (h) Comments Reference
characteristics

Citrobactersp. strain KCTC
18061P
Aspergillus fumigatus XC6
COD: 2,300 mg L-1 168 Response of inoculation with white rot fungus was Jang et al. (2007)
-1 attractive as color, COD and BOD of the raw colored
BOD: 800 mg L
wastewater of textile industry were removed up to 72, 35
pH: 9.5–10.5
and 50 %, respectively
pH: 8 24 A rapid disappearance in color of effluent was noticed with Jin et al. (2007)
Aspergillus fumigatus XC6 application as effluent color
was completely vanished within just 24 h. This shows
that Aspergillus fumigatus XC6 may be a potential
candidate to be used in large bioreactors installed in each
dye processing unit to decolorize raw colored wastewater
of textile industry
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92

Pleurotus florid
Phanerochaete chrysosporium
Aspergillus niger
Phanerochcete chrysosporium
TDS Total dissolved solids, SS suspended solids, TS total solids, TOC total organic carbon, TA total alkalinity, FCOD filtered chemical oxygen demand, EC electrical conductivity
pH: 11 120 A laccase producing white rot fungus, Pleurotus florid Perumal et al. (2007)
proved himself a potential candidate in bioremediation of
the textile effluent as color was removed up to 64 %
COD: 2,089 mg L-1 24 In response to application of live fungal pellet, dyes present Cing et al. (2003)
-1 in the raw color wastewater of textile industry were
TS: 13 mg L
totally disappeared within a day. However, response of
SS: 6.45
dead pellet was not much attractive as decorization rate
pH: 11.1 was 2 or 3 time less compared to live pellets. This may
imply that biodegradation rather biosorption is the main
mechanism of this fungal strain to decolorize the effluent
BOD: 205 mg L-1 20 Results of bioaugmentation showed that Aspergillus niger Assadi and Jahangiri (2001)
pH: 8.6 has potential application for the cleanup of textile
wastewater as its applications caused 100 % color
Total N: 0.05 %
removal within short time
96 About 98 % of the initial color of the effluent was Sani et al. (1998)
disappeared with bioaugmentatiopn, but it was
noteworthy that strain decolorized the effluent at higher
rate under shaking condition compared to static culture
83

123
84
Table 3 Bacterial decolorization of raw colored wastewater of textile industry
Bacteria
Consortium consisting of
Providencia sp. SDS and
Pseudomonas aeuroginosa strain
BCH
Consortium consisting of
Sphingomonas paucimobilis,
Bacillus sp. and filamentous
bacteria
Pseudomonas sp. SU-EBT
Consortium consisting of
Pseudomonas sp. SUK1
Pseudomonas sp. LBC2 and
Pseudomonas sp. LBC3
123
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
Effluent characteristics Biotreatment Comments Reference
time (h)
COD: 9,860 mg L-1 20 Bioaugmentation completely Phugare
BOD: 880 mg L -1 removed the color and caused et al.
significant reduction in its (2011)
pH: 8.1
toxicity. Induction in the
Total solids: 9,845 activities of azoreductase, DCIP
Metals: Cu, Fe, Mg, Pb, reductase, veratryl alcohol
Cr, Ca, Na and Ni oxidase and laccase enzymes
occurred during decolorization
of effluent implying that they
might be involved in
decolorization of the effluent
COD: 1,700 mg L-1 72 Bioaugmentation of raw Ayed et al.
pH: 7 wastewater resulted in removal (2011)
of dye up to 86 % in a
continuous stirred bed reactor.
Likewise, significant reduction in
COD (75.06 %) of the colored
wastewater was also recorded
COD: 1,000 mg L-1 60 Strain showed high potential to Telke et al.
BOD: 200 mg L-1 remove dyes from the raw (2010)
wastewater as 90 % of the initial
TA: 200 mg L-1
color was eliminated after
bioaugmentation. Intracellular
laccase enzyme of Pseudomonas
sp. SU-EBT was most likely
involved in decolorization of the
raw effluent as its activity was
increased substantially in the
presence of Congo red dye.
Significant reduction in COD
(50 %) and BOD (45 %) was
also recorded in parallel to color
removal
COD: 6,760 mg L-1 48 Consortium was found highly Jadhav et al.
BOD: 670 mg L-1 effective in degrading dyes (2010)
present in raw textile effluent as
pH: 8.2
color of effluent was totally
EC: 3.84 l S m-1 disappeared within 48 h of
bioaugmenttion. Activities of azo
dye degrading enzymes viz
laccase and azoreductase were
accelerated during decolorization
of reactive Orange 16 solution. It
is very much likely that these
enzymes might be involved in
degradation of dyes present in
simulated wastewater as well as
true colored wastewater of textile
industry
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92 85

Table 3 continued
Bacteria Effluent characteristics Biotreatment Comments Reference
time (h)

Consortium consisting of – 48 Bacterial consortium showed high Tamboli et al.

Sphingobacterium sp. ATM,
Bacillus odysseyi SUK3, and
Pseudomonas desmolyticum
NCIM 2112
Consortium consisting of Proteus
vulgaris NCIM-2027 and
Micrococcus glutamicus NCIM-
2168
Bacillus sp. VU
Bacillus sp.
Bacillus Mk-8
potential to degrade dyes both (2010)
present in simulated colored
wastewater and raw wastewater
of textile industry. Effluent was
decolorized up to 94.5 %. The
dye degrading enzymes laccase,
veratryl alcohol oxidase, DCIP
reductase, riboflavin reductase,
and azoreductase were found
highly active during
decolorization of wastewater.
Bioreatment also reduced COD
(72 %) and BOD (80 %) of the
raw colored wastewater
COD: 18,600 mg L-1 96 Inoculation of the effluent with Saratale et al.
pH:8.4 bacterial consortium caused (2010)
75 % decolorization of raw
textile effluent. During
decolorization, activities of
oxidoreductive enzymes were
also increased which may imply
their involvement in dye
degradation
High COD value 12 Biotreatment brought the color Dawkar et al.
level under environmental safe (2008)
limit as about 80 % of the dyes
in the effluent were removed. A
significant increase in the
activities of lignin peroxidase,
laccase and NADH–DCIP
reductase was observed during
the complete decolorization of
Brown 3REL
COD: 2,300 mg L-1 72 In response to inoculation with Pourbabaee
Bacillus sp. dyes present in the et al. (2006)
raw wastewater were removed
very effectively (up to 85 %)
along with substantial reduction
in COD and phytotoxicity
FCOD: 10,000 mg L-1 336 Application of bacterial granule Cheunbarn
was much effective for removal et al. (2008)
of color (96.9 %) and reducing
COD (66.7 %)

by textile industry. A number of bacterial strains,
including Pseudomonas sp. SU-EBT (Telke et al.
2010), Bacillus Mk-8 (Cheunbarn et al. 2008),
Bacillus sp. VUS (Dawkar et al. 2008),
Bacillus HB4 (Murugalatha et al. 2010), Kurthia sp.
(Sani and Banerjee 1999), Clostridium perfringenes,
Peptostreptococus spp. (Ajibola et al. 2005) has been
reported to decolorize textile dyes efficiently under
controlled conditions. Bacillus sp. VUS is able to
remove 80 % color in textile effluent within 12 h
(Dawkar et al. 2008). While studying the prospects for
biotreatment of raw textile wastewater, it was
observed that the bacterial granule made from
Bacillus Mk-8 caused 96.9 and 66.7 % reduction in

123
86
color and COD of textile wastewater, respectively
(Cheunbarn et al. 2008). Similarly, Pseudomonas sp.
SU-EBT showed a 90 % decolorization of textile
industrial effluent (Telke et al. 2010). Degradation
metabolites formed as a result of dye decolorization
were found to be less toxic compared to untreated
effluents. The potential of a number of bacterial strains
for biodecolorization and biotreatment of raw textile
wastewater are summarized in Table 3.
3.2.2 Wastewater treatment by mixed microbial
cultures
Mixed microbial cultures have also been characterized
and tested for decolorizing raw colored wastewater
(Tables 2, 3). Although pure cultures of bacteria are
capable of decolorizing textile wastewater, sometimes
mixed cultures perform better than pure cultures due to
synergistic metabolic activities (Tony et al. 2009). Dye
molecules can be attacked by individual strains at
different positions or a degradation product of a strain
can be used by a second microorganism in commensal
processes. For instance, Tamboli et al. (2010) observed a
rapid decolorization of textile wastewater with a three
member consortium (Sphingobacterium sp. ATM,
Pseudomonas desmolyticum NCIM 2112 and Bacillus
odysseyi SUK3) as compared to a pure culture. The
color of the effluent was completely eliminated with the
consortium; whereas, only partial color removal was
observed with the pure culture. Similarly, Phugare et al.
(2011) reported that raw effluent was decolorized more
effectively with a consortium containing Providencia
sp. SDS and Pseudomonas aeuroginosa strain BCH
than the individual cultures alone. According to Saratale
et al. (2010), the combined application of Proteus
vulgaris NCIM-2027 and Micrococcus glutamicus
NCIM-2168 is also very capable of removing dyes
from industrial effluents. Jadhav et al. (2010) docu-
mented the high potential of a bacterial consortium to
degrade dyes present in which decolorization was
achieved within 48 h. Like bacteria, mixed cultures of
fungi also have been tested for their ability to decolorize
raw textile wastewater. Asgher et al. (2012) tested the
potential of laccase, lignin peroxidase and Mn-perox-
idase producing mixed fungal culture employing Pleu-
rotus ostreatus IBL-02 and Coriolus versicolor IBL-04.
In addition to decolorizing the effluent, COD and BOD
also were reduced substantially in the treated wastewa-
ter compared to untreated wastewater.
123
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
Mixed cultures of bacteria and fungi also have
shown to decolorize textile effluents. Yang et al.
(2009) tested a fungi-bacterial consortium to decolor-
ize raw colored wastewater in a biofilm reactor. They
observed 69–90 % decrease in COD and 79–89 %
color removal in wastewater. Similarly, a fungal-
bacterial consortium was used by Joshi et al. (2010). A
significant decrease in the dye level was observed
within 3 h. Sludge is a rich source of different types of
microbes that have been used to remove dyes from
effluents. Melgoza et al. (2004) observed around
96 %, while You et al. (2007) ported up to 99 %
removal of the initial color of the raw wastewater by
applying sludge containing an undefined consortia.
Microbial consortia based on methanogenic micro-
bial populations also have been extensively studied
and applied for decolorization of textile wastewaters.
For example, Georgiou et al. (2005) studied the
decolorization of textile wastewater in a fixed bed
bioreactor pilot plant using immobilized mixed anaer-
obic methanogenic microbial populations. After opti-
mization, complete decolorization of the selected
textile wastewater was achieved within 24 h and this
efficiency was further enhanced when a second fixed
bed reactor was introduced in series with the first one.
In another study, an immobilized anaerobic methano-
genic microbial community was applied for decolor-
ization of synthetic as well as real textile wastewaters
in a fluidized bed loop reactor (Georgiou et al. 2005).
In this reactor, almost complete decolorization was
observed in 6 h. Similarly, Wijetunga et al. (2010)
evaluated the potential of immobilized bacterial mixed
culture dominated by Methanothrix bacteria for treat-
ment of textile wastewaters in an upflow anaerobic
sludge blanket (UASB) bioreactor. The potential
methanogenic mixed bacterial populations was also
tested for removal of color and COD of a textile
wastewater in an anaerobic baffled bioreactor (Goel
2010). This reaction resulted in removal of 99.4 % of
color and 71.5 % COD along with production of
considerable amount of biogas dominated by methane.
3.3 Wastewater treatment by microbial enzymes
Application of microbial enzymes could be another
effective way to remove hazardous dyes from textile
wastewater for their safe release into the environment.
Microbial enzymes are very effective to degrade dyes
in wastewater. For example, Dayaram and Dasgupta
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
(2008) studied the effectiveness of laccase enzyme
isolated from Polyporus rubidus to decolorize the
textile effluent. They found that the enzyme immo-
bilized in a bioreactor caused 100 % decolorization of
the effluent. Selvam et al. (2003) also observed
decolorization of textile effluent by laccase enzyme
purified from Thelephora sp. Likewise, Murugalatha
et al. (2010) observed a degradation of 34 % of crude
effluent (100 %) with a culture supernatant of Bacil-
lus, while 98 % decolorization was observed in the
case of 10 % diluted effluent. D’Souza et al. (2006)
used crude enzymes (fungus free supernatant) to
decolorize the textile effluent (10 %) and observed up
to 22 % discoloration after 12 h. Khlifi et al. (2010)
reported that the laccase from Tramete strogii decol-
orized more than 50 % effluent (20 %) in 6 h. In
addition, toxicity of the effluent was also reduced.
Similarly, in another study, Khlifi et al. (2009)
observed 70 % decolorization in case of textile
effluent obtained from KsarHelal (Tunisia) denim
textile factory when treated with laccase enzyme
isolated from Trametes trogii. Verma et al. (2010)
used laccases of Cerrena unicolor and Trametes
versicolor to decolorize two effluents of variable
composition. They observed 52 and 60 % decolor-
ization of first textile effluent (20 %) with laccases of
C. unicolor and T. versicolor, respectively, while the
remaining effluent decolorized up to 39 and 26 % in
36 h. Despite the fact that enzymatic treatment might
serve as a promising tool for bioremediation of textile
wastewaters, there are some drawbacks that limit their
application for wastewater treatment. One of the
major drawbacks is the requirement for large quan-
tities of enzymes that must be produced to treat huge
volumes of wastewater demanding bioremediation
(Husain and Jan 2000; Mukherjee et al. 2013). The
requirement for large quantities of enzymes is also a
difficult challenge due to their low production rate
and their sensitivity to enzyme inactivation due to
non-optimal temperature, humidity, pH and enzyme
inhibition by contaminants in the wastewaters (Moj-
sov 2011; Wang et al. 2012; Mukherjee et al. 2013).
Application of enzyme based treatment processes is
also very expensive (Gholami-Borujeni et al. 2011;
Mugdha and Usha 2012; Mukherjee et al. 2013).
Moreover, the use of enzymes for detoxification of
the pollutants has also been found to suffer from
problems with thermal instability, activity inhibition,
attack by the proteases, and concern over the
87
formation of residual products in the wastewaters
(Karam and Nicell 1997; Husain and Jan 2000;
Gholami-Borujeni et al. 2011; Mugdha and Usha
2012). However, to some extent these problems can
be overcome by immobilizing effective enzymes on
low cost matrices leading not only to their separation
and reuse but also to their application in continuous
bioreactors (Husain and Jan 2000; Mukherjee et al.
2013).
3.4 Conclusions and future perspectives
Wastewater discharged by the textile processing
industry is a complex mixture of several substances
that accompany a huge variety of dyes with diverse
chemical structures. The potential use of microor-
ganisms to decolorize azo dyes has been investi-
gated in vitro and in vivo. Application of microbes
to raw textile wastewater can be effective for
achieving a large decrease in the dye content of
wastewater despite the enormous amounts of salts,
metals and other contaminants. However, in most
cases, the microorganisms that have been tested for
decolorizing dyes have been studied using waste-
water with relatively simple chemical compositions
under laboratory conditions. As this technology is
scaled up, it will be necessary to evaluate the true
potential for use of microorganisms to decolorize
real textile wastewaters in bioreactor systems built
at industrial outlets that receive water directly from
the dyeing units. Furthermore, immobilization of the
purified enzymes on support matrix also needs
further real world tests to determine the rate of
dye decolorization that can be achieved. Ongoing
research is also continuing on the isolation and
characterization of mixed microbial communities
and consortia that have the potential to tolerate
stress conditions including salts and metal ions
present in textile wastewater. The metabolic path-
ways involved in biodecolorization of textile waste-
water have not yet been fully elucidated. Therefore,
it is necessary to target the underlying processes and
metabolic pathways by identifying genes and
metabolites in the decolorization processes. It may
also be useful in understanding the genetic basis of
metal and salt tolerance to develop more effective
strains that are capable of removing a wide range of
synthetic dyes from raw textile effluents in the
presence of mixed contaminants.
123
88
Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to the Higher
Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan for providing funds to
visit the laboratory of Professor David E. Crowley, Department
of Environmental Sciences, University of California Riverside,
USA. This manuscript was prepared by working under the
supervision of Professor David E. Crowley.
References
Abu-Ghunmi LN, Jamrah AI (2006) Biological treatment of
textile wastewater using sequencing batch reactor tech-
nology. Environ Model Assess 11:333–343
Abraha K, Gebrekidan A, Weldegebriel Y, Hadera A (2014)
Physico-chemical analysis of Almeda textile industry
effluents in Tigray, Northern Ethopia. J Environ Annal
Chem. doi:10.4172/jreac:1000103
Agarry SE, Ayobami OA (2011) Evaluation of microbial sys-
tems for biotreatment of textile waste effluents in Nigeria:
biodecolourization and biodegradation of textile dye.
J Appl Sci Environ Manag 15:79–86
Ali S, Nadeem R, Bhatti HN, Hayat S, Ali S, Chatha S, Muneer
M (2006) Analyses and treatment of textile effluents. Int J
Agric Biol 8:641–644
Ali N, Hameed A, Ahmed S (2009) Physicochemical charac-
terization and bioremediation perspective of textile efflu-
ent, dyes and metals by indigenous Bacteria. J Hazard
Mater 164:322–328
Ali DM, Suresh A, Praveen Kumar R, Gunasekaran M, Tha-
juddin N (2011) Efficiency of textile dye decolorization by
marine cyanobacterium, Oscillatoria formosa NTDM02.
Afr J Basic Appl Sci 3:9–13
Alinsafi A, Da Motta M, Le Bonté S, Pons MN, Benhammou A
(2006) Effect of variability on the treatment of textile
dyeing wastewater by activated sludge. Dyes Pigment
69:31–39
Amaral PFF, Fernandes DLA, Tavares APM, Xavier ABMR,
Cammarota MC, Coutinho JAP, Coelho MAZ (2004)
Decolorization of dyes from textile wastewater by Tra-
metes versicolor. Environ Technol 25:1313–1320
Anastasi A, Parato B, Spina F, Tigini V, Prigione V, Varese GC
(2011) Decolourisation and detoxification in the fungal
treatment of textile wastewaters from dyeing processes.
New Biotechnol 29:38–45
Andleeb SAADIA, Atiq N, Ali MI, Razi-ul-Hussnain RAJA,
Shafiqe M, Ahmed B (2010) Biological treatment of textile
effluent in stirred tank bioreactor. Int J Agric Biol
12:256–260
Asgher M, Noreen S, Bhatti HN (2010) Decolorization of dye-
containing textile industry effluents using Ganoderma lu-
cidum IBL-05 in still cultures. Water Environ Res
82:357–361
Asgher M, Jamil F, Iqbal HMN (2012) Bioremediation potential
of mixed white rot culture of Pleurotus ostreatus IBL-02
and Coriolus versicolor IBL-04 for textile industry
wastewater. J Bioremed Biodegrad :007. doi:10.4172/
2155-6199.S1-007
Aslam MM, Baig MA, Hassan I, Qazi IA, Malik M, Saeed H
(2004) Textile wastewater characterization and reduction
of its COD and BOD by oxidation. EJEAF Che 3:804–811
123
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
Assadi MM, Jahangiri MR (2001) Textile wastewater treatment
by Aspergillus niger. Desalination 14:1–6
Assadi MM, Rostami K, Shahvali M, Azin M (2001) Decolor-
ization of textile wastewater by Phanerochaete chrysos-
porium. Desalination 141:331–336
Ayed L, Mahdhi A, Cheref A, Bakhrouf A (2011) Decoloriza-
tion and degradation of azo dye methyl red by an isolated
Sphingomonas paucimobilis: biotoxicity and metabolites
characterization. Desalination 274:272–277
Bafana A, Chakrabarti T, Muthal P, Kanade G (2009) Detoxi-
fication of benzidine-based azo dye by E. gallinarum: time-
course study. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 72:960–964
Baldrian P (2006) Fungal laccases–occurrence and properties.
FEMS Microbiol Rev 30:215–242
Bayoumi RA, Musa SM, Bahobil AS, Louboudy SS, El-Saka-
wey TA (2010) Biodecolorization and biodegradation of
azo dyes by some bacterial isolates. J Appl Environ Biol
Sci 1:1–25
Blánquez P, Sarrà M, Vicent T (2008) Development of a con-
tinuous process to adapt the textile wastewater treatment by
fungi to industrial conditions. Process Biochem 43:1–7
Bragger JL, Lloyd AW, Soozandehfar SH, Bloomfield SF,
Marriott C, Martin GP (1997) Investigations into the azo
reducing activity of a common colonic microorganism. Int
J Pharm 157:61–71
Carliell CM, Barclay SJ, Shaw C, Wheatley AD, Buckley CA
(1998) The effect of salts used in textile dyeing on
microbial decolorization of a reactive azo dye. Environ
Technol 19:1133–1137
Carneiro PA, Umbuzeiro GA, Oliveira DP, Zanoni MVB (2010)
Assessment of water contamination caused by a mutagenic
textile effluent/dyehouse effluent bearing disperse dyes.
J Hazard Mater 174:694–699
Cervantes FJ, Santos ABD (2011) Reduction of azo dyes by
anaerobic bacteria: microbiological and biochemical
aspects. Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 10:125–137
Chacko JT, Subramaniam K (2011) Enzymatic degradation of
azo dyes—a review. Int J Environ Sci 1:1250–1260
Chakraborty S, Basak B, Dutta S, Bhunia B, Dey A (2013)
Decolorization and biodegradation of congo red dye by a
novel white rot fungus Alternaria alternata CMERI F6.
Bioresour Technol 147:662–666
Chang JS, Kuo TS (2000) Kinetics of bacterial decolorization of
azo dye with Escherichia coli NO3. Bioresour Technol
75:107–111
Charumathi D, Das N (2012) Packed bed column studies for the
removal of synthetic dyes from textile wastewater using
immobilised dead C. tropicalis. Desalination 285:22–30
Chen G, Chen L (2011) A batch decolorization and kinetic study
of reactive black 5 by a bacterial strain Enterobacter sp.
GY-1. Int Biodeterior Biodegrad 65:790–796
Chen KC, Wu JY, Liou DJ, Hwang SCJ (2003) Decolorization
of the textile dyes by newly isolated bacterial strains.
J Biotechnol 101:57–68
Chen H, Wang RF, Cerniglia CE (2004) Molecular cloning,
overexpression, purification, and characterization of an
aerobic FMN-dependent azoreductase from Enterococcus
faecalis. Protein Expr Purif 34:302–310
Cheunbarn T, Cheunbarn S, Khumjai T (2008) Prospects of
bacterial granule for treatment of raw textile industrial
wastewater. Int J Agric Biol 10:689–692
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
Cing SDEO, Hamamci DA, Apohan E, Yeşilada O (2003)
Decolorization of textile dyeing wastewater by Phanero-
chaete chrysosporium. Folia Microbiol 48:639–642
Correia VM, Stephenson T, Judd SJ (1994) Characterization of
textile wastewaters—a review. Environ Technol 15:917–929
Couto RS, Herrera JLT (2006) Industrial and biotechnological
applications of laccases: a review. Biotechnol Adv
24:500–513
Cui D, Li G, Zhao D, Gu X, Wang C, Zhao M (2011) Purifi-
cation and characterization of an azoreductase from
Escherichia coli CD-2 possessing quinone reductase
activity. Process Biochem 47:544–549
Dafale N, Rao NN, Meshram SU, Wate SR (2008) Decolor-
ization of azo dyes and simulated dye bath wastewater
using acclimatized microbial consortium–biostimulation
and halo tolerance. Bioresour Technol 99:2552–2558
Dawkar VV, Jadhav UU, Jadhav SU, Govindwar SP (2008)
Biodegradation of disperse textile dye Brown 3REL by
newly isolated Bacillus sp. VUS. J Appl Microbiol
105:14–24
Dawkar VV, Jadhav UU, Tamboli DP, Govindwar SP (2010)
Efficient industrial dye decolorization by Bacillus sp. VUS
with its enzyme system. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 73:1696–
1703
Dayaram P, Dasgupta D (2008) Decolorisation of synthetic dyes
and textile wastewater using Polyporus rubidus. J Environ
Biol 29:831–836
Deng D, Guo J, Zeng G, Sun G (2008) Decolorization of
anthraquinone, triphenylmethane and azo dyes by a new
isolated Bacillus cereus strain DC11. Int Biodeterior Bio-
degrad 62:263–269
Diwaniyan S, Kharb D, Raghukumar C, Kuhad RC (2010)
Decolorization of synthetic dyes and textile effluents by
basidiomycetous fungi. Water Air Soil Pollut 1–4:409–419
D’Souza DT, Tiwari R, Sah AK, Raghukumar C (2006)
Enhanced production of laccase by a marine fungus during
treatment of colored effluents and synthetic dyes. Enzyme
Microb Technol 38:504–511
Duarte-Vázquez MA, Garcı́a-Almendárez BE, Rojo-Domı́n-
guez A, Whitaker JR, Arroyave-Hernández C, Regalado C
(2003) Monosaccharide composition and properties of a
deglycosylated turnip peroxidase isozyme. Phytochemistry
62:5–11
EPA (1997) Profile of the textile industry, environmental pro-
tection agency. Washington, USA
Esteves M, Silva JD (2004) Electrochemical degradation of
reactive blue 19 dye in textile wastewater. Autex World
Textile Conference (4) Roubaix pp 1–6
Fu Y, Viraraghavan T (2001) Fungal decolorization of dye
wastewaters: a review. Bioresour Technol 79:251–262
Georgiou D, Hatiras J, Aivasidis A (2005) Microbial immobi-
lization in a two-stage fixed-bed-reactor pilot plant for on-
site anaerobic decolorization of textile wastewater.
Enzyme Microb Technol 37:597–605
Gholami-Borujeni F, Mahvi AH, Nasseri S, Faramarzi MA,
Nabizadeh R, Alimohammadi M (2011) Enzymatic treat-
ment and detoxification of acid orange 7 from textile
wastewater. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 165:1274–1284
Goel S (2010) Anaerobic baffled reactor for treatment of textile
dye effluent. J Sci Ind Res 69:305–307
89
Gopinath KP, Kathiravan MN, Srinivasan R, Sankaranarayanan
S (2011) Evaluation and elimination of inhibitory effects of
salts and heavy metal ions on biodegradation of Congo red
by Pseudomonas sp. mutant. Bioresour Technol 102:3687–
3693
Gottlieb A, Shaw C, Smith A, Wheatley A, Forsythe S (2003)
The toxicity of textile reactive dyes after hydrolysis and
decolourisation. J Biotechnol 101:49–56
Grassi E, Scodeller P, Filiel N, Carballo R, Levin L (2011)
Potential of Trametes trogii culture fluids and its purified
laccase for the decolorization of different types of recal-
citrant dyes without the addition of redox mediators. Int
Biodeterior Biodegrad 65:635–643
Guo J, Zhou J, Wang D, Tian C, Wang PM, Uddin S (2008) A
novel moderately halophilic bacterium for decolorizing
azo dye under high salt condition. Biodegradation
19:15–19
Gupta VK (2009) Application of low-cost adsorbents for dye
removal—a review. J Environ Manag 90:2313–2342
Gursahani YH, Gupta SG (2011) Decolourization of textile
effluent by a thermophilic bacteria Anoxybacillus rupien-
sis. J Pet Environ Biotechnol 2:108–2011
Hadibarata T, Yusoff ARM, Aris A, Hidayat T, Kristanti RA
(2012) Decolorization of azo, triphenylmethane and
anthraquinone dyes by laccase of a newly isolated Armil-
laria sp. F022. Water Air Soil Pollut 223:1045–1054
Henciya S, Shankar AM, Malliga P (2013) Decolorization of
textile dye effluent by marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya sp.
BDU 9001 with coir pith. Int J Environ Sci 3:909–918
Hoegger PJ, Kilaru S, James TY, Thacker JR, Kües U (2006)
Phylogenetic comparison and classification of laccase and
related multicopper oxidase protein sequences. FEBS J
273:2308–2326
Hu X, Gao H, Zhang Y, Zhou YX, Jiang JY (2009) Study on
biodegradation of azo dye by thermophilic anaerobic pro-
cess. In Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering, 2009.
ICBBE 2009. 3rd International Conference on (pp 1–4).
IEEE
Hunger K (2003) Industrial dyes-chemistry, properties, appli-
cations. VCH, New York
Husain Q (2010) Peroxidase mediated decolorization and
remediation of wastewater containing industrial dyes: a
review. Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 9(117–140):2010
Husain Q, Jan U (2000) Detoxification of phenols and aromatic
amines from polluted wastewater by using phenol oxi-
dases. J Sci Ind Res 59:286–293
Hussain S, Maqbool Z, Ali S, Yasmeen T, Imran M, Mahmood
F, Abbas F (2013) Biodecolorization of reactive black-5 by
a metal and salt tolerant bacterial strain Pseudomonas sp.
RA20 isolated from Paharang drain effluents in Pakistan.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 98:331–338
Jadhav SU, Ghodake GS, Telke AA, Tamboli DP, Govindwar
SP (2009) Degradation and detoxification of disperse dye
Scarlet RR by Galactomyces geotrichum MTCC 1360.
J Microbiol Biotechnol 19:409–415
Jadhav JP, Kalyani DC, Telke AA, Phugare SS, Govindwar SP
(2010) Evaluation of the efficacy of a bacterial consortium
for the removal of color, reduction of heavy metals, and
toxicity from textile dye effluent. Bioresour Technol
101:165–173
123
90
Jalandoni-Buan AC, Decena-Soliven AA, Cao EP, Barraquio
VL, Barraquio WL (2010) Characterization and identifi-
cation of Congo red decolorizing bacteria from monocul-
tures and consortia. Philipp J Sci 139:71–78
Jang MS, Jung BG, Sung NC, Lee YC (2007) Decolorization of
textile plant effluent by Citrobacter sp. strain KCTC
18061P. J Gen Appl Microbiol 53:339–343
Jin XC, Liu GQ, Xu ZH, Tao WY (2007) Decolorization of a
dye industry effluent by Aspergillus fumigatus XC6. Appl
Microbiol Biotechnol 74:239–243
Joshi SM, Inamdar SA, Telke A, Tamboli DP, Govindwar SP
(2010) Exploring the potential of natural bacterial con-
sortium to degrade mixture of dyes and textile effluent. Int
Biodeterior Biodegrad 64:622–628
Kanayama N, Suzuki T, Kawai K (2002) Purification and
characterization of an alkaline manganese peroxidase from
Aspergillus terreus LD-1. J Biosci Bioeng 93:405–410
Karam J, Nicell JA (1997) Potential applications of enzymes in
waste treatment. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 69:141–153
Karigar C, Mahesh A, Nagenahalli M, Yun DJ (2006) Phenol
degradation by immobilized cells of Arthrobacter citreus.
Biodegradation 17:47–55
Kaushik P, Malik A (2010) Effect of nutritional conditions on
dye removal from textile effluent by Aspergillus lentulus.
World J Microbiol Biotechnol 26:1957–1964
Khalid A, Arshad M, Crowley DE (2008) Accelerated decol-
orization of structurally different azo dyes by newly iso-
lated bacterial strains. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol
78:361–369
Khalid A, Kausar F, Arshad M, Mahmood T, Ahmed I (2012)
Accelerated decolorization of reactive azo dyes under
saline conditions by bacteria isolated from Arabian sea-
water sediment. Microbiol Biotechnol 96:1599–1606
Khlifi R, Sayadi S, Belbahri L, Woodward S, Mechichi T (2009)
Effect of HBT on the stability of laccase during the deco-
lourization of textile wastewaters. J Chem Technol Bio-
technol 84:1828–1833
Khlifi R, Belbahri L, Woodward S, Ellouz M, Dhouib A, Sayadi
S, Mechichi T (2010) Decolourization and detoxification of
textile industry wastewater by the laccase-mediator sys-
tem. J Hazard Mater 175:802–808
Kudlich M, Keck A, Klein J, Stolz A (1997) Localization of the
enzyme system involved in anaerobic reduction of azo dyes
by Sphingomonas sp. strain BN6 and effect of artificial
redox mediators on the rate of azo dye reduction. Appl
Environ Microbiol 63:3691–3694
Li T, Guthrie JT (2010) Colour removal from aqueous solutions
of metal-complex azo dyes using bacterial cells of
Shewanella strain J18 143. Bioresour Technol 101:4291–
4295
Liu GF, Zhou JT, Wang J, Song ZY, Qv YY (2006) Bacterial
decolorization of azo dyes by Rhodopseudomonas palus-
tris. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 22:1069–1074
Ma C, Zhou S, Lu Q, Yang G, Wang D, Zhuang L, Lei F (2013)
Decolorization of Orange I under alkaline and anaerobic
conditions by a newly isolated humus-reducing bacterium,
Planococcus sp. MC01. Int Biodeterior Biodegrad
83:17–24
Manu B, Chaudhari S (2002) Anaerobic decolorisation of sim-
ulated textile wastewater containing azo dyes. Bioresour
Technol 82:225–231
123
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
Manu B, Chaudhari S (2003) Decolorization of indigo and azo
dyes in semicontinuous reactors with long hydraulic
retention time. Process Biochem 38:1213–1221
Mazumder R, Logan JR, Mikell AT Jr, Hooper SW (1999)
Characteristics and purification of an oxygen insensitive
azoreductase from Caulobacter subvibrioides strain C7-D.
J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 23:476–483
Mehna A, Bajpai P, Bajpai PK (1995) Studies on decolorization
of effluent from a small pulp mill utilizing agriresidues
with Trametes versicolor. Enzyme Microb Technol
17:18–22
Melgoza RM, Cruz A, Buitron G (2004) Anaerobic/aerobic
treatment of colorants present in textile effluents. Water Sci
Technol 50:149–155
Meng X, Liu G, Zhou J, Fu QS, Wang G (2012) Azo dye
decolorization by Shewanella aquimarina under saline
conditions. Bioresour Technol 114:95–101
Miranda RDCMD, Gomes EDB, Pereira N Jr, Marin-Morales
MA, Machado KMG, Gusmão NBD (2013) Biotreatment
of textile effluent in static bioreactor by Curvularia lunata
URM 6179 and Phanerochaete chrysosporium URM 6181.
Bioresour Technol 142:361–367
Misal SA, Lingojwar DP, Shinde RM, Gawai KR (2011) Purifi-
cation and characterization of azoreductase from alkaliphilic
strain Bacillus badius. Process Biochem 46:1264–1269
Mojsov K (2011) Application of enzymes in the textile industry:
a review. In: II International Congress ‘‘Engineering,
Ecology and Materials in the Processing Industry’’.
pp 230–239, Jahorina, Bosnia and Hercegovina
Moya R, Hernández M, Garcı́a-Martı́n AB, Ball AS, Arias ME
(2010) Contributions to a better comprehension of redox-
mediated decolouration and detoxification of azo dyes by a
laccase produced by Streptomyces cyaneus CECT 3335.
Bioresour Technol 101:2224–2229
Mugdha A, Usha M (2012) Enzymatic treatment of wastewater
containing dyestuffs using different delivery systems. Sci
Rev Chem Commun 2:31–40
Mukherjee S, Basak B, Bhunia B, Dey A, Mondal B (2013)
Potential use of polyphenol oxidases (PPO) in the biore-
mediation of phenolic contaminants containing industrial
wastewater. Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 12:61–73
Murugalatha N, Mohankumar A, Sankaravadivoo A, Rajesh C
(2010) Textile effluent treatment by Bacillus species iso-
lated from processed food. Afr J Microbiol Res
4:2122–2126
Nam S, Renganathan V (2000) Non-enzymatic reduction of azo
dyes by NADH. Chemosphere 40:351–357
Nigam P, Banat IM, Singh D, Marchant R (1996) Microbial
process for the decolorization of textile effluent containing
azo, diazo and reactive dyes. Process Biochem 31:435–442
Nilsson I, Möller A, Mattiasson B, Rubindamayugi MST, We-
lander U (2006) Decolorization of synthetic and raw textile
wastewater by the use of white-rot fungi. Enzyme Microb
Technol 38:94–100
Nordin N, Amir M, Fathrita S, Othman MR (2013) Textile
industries wastewater treatment by electrochemical oxi-
dation technique using metal plate. Int J Electrochem Sci
8:11403–11415
O’Neill C, Hawkes FR, Esteves SRR, Hawkes DL, Wilcox SJ
(1999) Anaerobic and aerobic treatment of a simulated
textile effluent. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 74:993–999
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
Ogugbue CJ, Sawidis T (2011) Optimization of process
parameters for bioreduction of azo dyes using Bacillus
firmus under batch anaerobic condition. Int J Environ Stud
68:651–665
Pearce CI, Lloyd JR, Guthrie JT (2003) The removal of color
from textile wastewater using whole bacterial cells: a
review. Dyes Pigment 58:179–196
Perumal SM, Munuswamy D, Sellamuthu PS, Kandasamy M,
Thangavelu KP (2007) Biosorption of textile dyes and
effluents by Pleurotus florida and Trametes hirsuta with
evaluation of their laccase activity. Iran J Biotechnol
5:114–118
Phugare SS, Kalyani DC, Surwase SN, Jadhav JP (2011) Eco-
friendly degradation, decolorization and detoxification of
textile effluent by a developed bacterial consortium. Eco-
toxicol Environ Saf 74:1288–1296
Pierce J (1994) Colour in textile effluents—the origins of the
problem. J Soc Dye Colour 110:131–133
Pourbabaee AA, Malekzadeh F, Sarbolouki MN, Najafi F (2006)
Aerobic decolorization and detoxification of a disperse dye
in textile effluent by a new isolate of Bacillus sp. Bio-
technol Bioeng 93:631–635
Rajamohan N, Rajasimman M (2012) Kinetic modeling of dye
effluent biodegradation by Pseudomonas stutzeri. Eng
Technol Appl Sci Res 3:387–390
ReVelle P, ReVelle C (1988) The environment: issues and
choices forsociety, 3rd edn. Jones and Bartlett Publishers,
Boston 749
Rosli M, Habibah N (2006) Development of biological treat-
ment system for reduction of COD from textile wastewater
(Doctoral dissertation, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia,
Faculty of Science)
Roy R, Fakhruddin ANM, Khatun R, Islam MS (2010a)
Reduction of COD and pH of textile industrial effluents by
aquatic macrophytes and algae. J Bangladesh Acad Sci
34:9–14
Roy R, Fakhruddin ANM, Khatun R, Islam MS, Ahsan MA,
Neger AJMT (2010b) Characterization of textile industrial
effluents and its effects on aquatic macrophytes and algae.
Bangladesh J Sci Ind Res 45:79–84
Ryan A, Kaplan E, Nebel J-C, Polycarpou E, Crescente V, Low
E, Pretson GM, Sim E (2014) Identification of NAD(P)H
oxidoreductase activity in azoreductase from P. aerugin-
osa: Azoreductase and NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase
belong to same FMN-dependent superfamily of enzymes.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098551
Sani RK, Banerjee UC (1999) Decolorization of triphenyl-
methane dyes and textile and dye-stuff effluent by Kurthia
sp. Enzyme Microb Technol 24:433–437
Sani RK, Azmi W, Banerjee UC (1998) Comparison of static
and shake culture in the decolorization of textile dyes and
dye effluents by Phanerochate chrysosporium. Folia
Microbiol 43:85–88
Santos ABD, de Madrid MP, Stams AJ, Van Lier JB, Cervantes
FJ (2005) Azo dye reduction by mesophilic and thermo-
philic anaerobic consortia. Biotechnol Prog 21:1140–1145
Saparrat N, Carlos M, Hammer E (2006) Decolorization of
synthetic dyes by the deuteromycete Pestalotiopsis gu-
epinii CLPS no. 786 strain. J Basic Microbiol 46:28–33
Saranraj P, Sumathi V, Reetha D, Stella D (2010) Decoloriza-
tion and degradation of direct azo dyes and biodegradation
91
of textile dye effluent by using bacteria isolated from tex-
tile dye effluent. J Ecobiotechnol 2:7–11
Saratale RG (2012) Development of efficient microbial con-
sortium for biodegradation of azo dyes (Scarlet RR and
Green HE4BD) PhD Thesis
Saratale RG, Saratale GD, Kalyani DC, Chang JS, Govindwar
SP (2009) Enhanced decolorization and biodegradation of
textile azo dye Scarlet R by using developed microbial
consortium-GR. Bioresour Technol 100:2493–2500
Saratale RG, Saratale GD, Chang JS, Govindwar SP (2010)
Decolorization and biodegradation of reactive dyes and
dye wastewater by a developed bacterial consortium.
Biodegradation 21:999–1015
Sedighi M, Karimi A, Vahabzadeh F (2009) Involvement of
ligninolytic enzymes of Phanerochaete chrysosporium in
treating the textile effluent containing Astrazon Red FBL in
a packed-bed bioreactor. J Hazard Mater 169:88–93
Seesuriyachan P, Takenaka S, Kuntiya A, Klayraung S, Mura-
kami S, Aoki K (2007) Metabolism of azo dyes by Lac-
tobacillus casei TISTR 1500 and effects of various factors
on decolorization. Water Res 41:985–992
Selvam K, Swaminathan K, Chae KS (2003) Decolourization of
azo dyes and a dye industry effluent by a white rot fungus
Thelephora sp. Bioresour Technol 88:115–119
Sharma SK, Goloubinoff P, Christen P (2008) Heavy metal ions
are potent inhibitors of protein folding. Biochem Biophys
Res Commun 372:341–345
Shedbalkar U, Jadhav JP (2011) Detoxification of malachite
green and textile industrial effluent by Penicillium ochro-
chloron. Biotechnol Bioprocess Eng 16:196–204
Shin KS (2004) The role of enzymes produced by white-rot
fungus Irpex lacteus in the decolorization of the textile
industry effluent. J Microbiol 42:37–41
Spadaro JT, Gold MH, Renganathan V (1992) Degradation of
azo dyes by the lignin-degrading fungus Phanerochaete
chrysosporium. Appl Environ Microbiol 58:2397–2401
Swamy J, Ramsay JA (1999) The evaluation of white rot fungi
in the decoloration of textile dyes. Enzyme Microb Tech-
nol 24:130–137
Tamboli DP, Kurade MB, Waghmode TR, Joshi SM, Gov-
indwar SP (2010) Exploring the ability of Sphingobac-
terium sp. ATM to degrade textile dye Direct Blue GLL,
mixture of dyes and textile effluent and production of
polyhydroxyhexadecanoic acid using waste biomass
generated after dye degradation. J Hazard Mater 182:
169–176
Telke A, Kalyani D, Jadhav J, Govindwar S (2008) Kinetics and
mechanism of Reactive Red 141 degradation by a bacterial
isolate Rhizobium radiobacter MTCC 8161. Acta Chim
Slov 55:320–322
Telke AA, Joshi SM, Jadhav SU, Tamboli DP, Govindwar SP
(2010) Decolorization and detoxification of Congo red and
textile industry effluent by an isolated bacterium Pseudo-
monas sp. SU-EBT. Biodegradation 21:283–296
Tony BD, Goyal D, Khanna S (2009) Decolorization of textile
azo dyes by aerobic bacterial consortium. Int Biodeterior
Biodegrad 63:462–469
Topac FO, Dindar E, Uçaroglu S, Başkaya HS (2009) Effect of a
sulfonated azo dye and sulfanilic acid on nitrogen trans-
formation processes in soil. J Hazard Mater 170:
1006–1013
123
92
Valentin L, Lu-Chau TA, López C, Feijoo G, Moreira MT,
Lema JM (2007) Biodegradation of dibenzothiophene,
fluoranthene, pyrene and chrysene in a soil slurry reactor by
the white-rot fungus Bjerkandera sp. BOS55. Process
Biochem 42:641–648
Verma AK, Raghukumar C, Verma P, Shouche YS, Naik CG
(2010) Four marine-derived fungi for bioremediation of
raw textile mill effluents. Biodegradation 21:217–233
Vijaykumar MH, Vaishampayan PA, Shouche YS, Karegoudar
TB (2007) Decolourization of naphthalene-containing
sulfonated azo dyes by Kerstersia sp. strain VKY1.
Enzyme Microb Technol 40:204–211
Vishwakarma SK, Singh MP, Srivastava AK, Pandey VK
(2012) Azo dye (direct blue 14) decolorization by immo-
bilized extracellular enzymes of Pleurotus species. Cell
Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand) 58:21–25
Wang W, Zhang Z, Ni H, Yang X, Li Q, Li L (2012) Decolor-
ization of industrial synthetic dyes using engineered
Pseudomonas putida cells with surface-immobilized bac-
terial laccase. Microb Cell Fact 11:1–14
Wesenberg D, Kyriakides I, Agathos SN (2003) White-rot fungi
and their enzymes for the treatment of industrial dye
effluents. Biotechnol Adv 22:161–187
Wijetunga S, Li XF, Jian C (2010) Effect of organic load on
decolourization of textile wastewater containing acid dyes
in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor. J Hazard Mater
177:792–798
123
Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2015) 14:73–92
Yang Q, Li C, Li H, Li Y, Yu N (2009) Degradation of synthetic
reactive azo dyes and treatment of textile wastewater by a
fungi consortium reactor. Biocheml Eng J 43:225–230
Yang G, He Y, Cai Z, Zhao X, Wang L, Wang L (2011) Isolation
and characterization of Pseudomonas putida WLY for
reactive brilliant red x-3b decolorization. Afr J Biotechnol
10:10456–10464
You SJ, Tseng DH, Ou SH, Chang WK (2007) Performance and
microbial diversity of a membrane bioreactor treating raw
textile dyeing wastewater. Environ Technol 28:935–941
Yusuff RO, Sonibare JA (2004) Characterization of textile
industries’ effluents in Kaduna, Nigeria and pollution
implications. Glob Nest: Int J 6:212–221
Zheng J, Guo N, Wu L, Tian J, Zhou H (2013) Characterization
and constitutive expression of a novel endo-1, 4-b-d-xy-
lanohydrolase from Aspergillus niger in Pichia pastoris.
Biotechnol Lett 35:1433–1440
Zheng M, Chi Y, Yi H, Shao S (2014) Decolorization of Alizarin
Red and other synthetic dyes by a recombinant laccase
from Pichia pastoris. Biotechnol Lett 36:39–45
Zhuo R, Ma L, Fan F, Gong Y, Wan X, Jiang M, Zhang X, Yang
Y (2011) Decolorization of different dyes by a newly iso-
lated white-rot fungi strain Ganoderma sp. En3 and cloning
and functional analysis of its laccase gene. J Hazard Mater
192:855–873