Novel physico-biological treatment for the remediation of textile dyes-containing industrial effluents

• Published in: Bioresource technology 2013-10, Vol.146, p.689-695
• Main Authors: Álvarez, M.S., Moscoso, F., Rodríguez, A., Sanromán, M.A., Deive, F.J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acid Black 48; Anoxybacillus - metabolism; Anoxybacillus flavithermus; Anthraquinones - analysis; Applied sciences; Aqueous biphasic systems; Biodegradation, Environmental; Biomass; Coloring Agents - analysis; Coloring Agents - chemistry; Culture Media; Decoloring; Dyes; Effluents; Equipment Design; Exact sciences and technology; Filtration; Finishing; Industrial Waste - analysis; Models, Theoretical; Naphthalenesulfonates - analysis; Pollution; Polysorbates - chemistry; Potassium Citrate - chemistry; Reactive Black 5; Remediation; Salting; Strategy; Surface-Active Agents - chemistry; Textile Industry; Textiles; Time Factors; Waste Disposal, Fluid - methods; Wastes; Water Purification - methods
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2013.07.137

•First anthraquinone and azo dye aerobic degradation by an anaerobic thermophile.•About 60% biodegradation is attained after 12h of cultivation of A. flavithermus.•The organic salt potassium citrate proved to be an effective salting out agent.•Coupling a secondary Tween-based ABS led to remediation values higher than 99%. In this work, a novel remediation strategy consisting of a sequential biological and physical process is proposed to remove dyes from a textile polluted effluent. The decolorization ability of Anoxybacillus flavithermus in an aqueous effluent containing two representative textile finishing dyes (Reactive Black 5 and Acid Black 48, as di-azo and antraquinone class, respectively) was proved. The decolorization efficiency for a mixture of both dyes reached almost 60% in less than 12h, which points out the suitability of the selected microorganism. In a sequential stage, an aqueous biphasic system consisting of non-ionic surfactants and a potassium-based organic salt, acting as the salting out agent, was investigated. The phase segregation potential of the selected salts was evaluated in the light of different thermodynamic models, and remediation levels higher than 99% were reached.