Bioremediation of tannery effluent by Cr- and salt-tolerant bacterial strains

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment 2018-12, Vol.190 (12), p.716-11, Article 716
• Main Authors: Ashraf, Sobia, Naveed, Muhammad, Afzal, Muhammad, Ashraf, Sana, Rehman, Khadeeja, Hussain, Azhar, Zahir, Zahir Ahmad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bacteria; Biochemical oxygen demand; Biodegradation, Environmental; Biological effects; Bioremediation; Carcinogens; Carcinogens - analysis; Chemical oxygen demand; Chromium; Chromium - analysis; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Effluents; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental monitoring; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Environmental pollution; Environmental science; Incubation period; Industrial pollution; Industrial Waste - analysis; Industry; Inoculum; Leather; Microbiological strains; Microorganisms; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Organic chemistry; Oxygen; Pollutant removal; Pollutants; Pollution; Pollution control; Pollution sources; Removal; Salinity tolerance; Salts; Salts - analysis; Solid suspensions; Strains (organisms); Suspended particulate matter; Tanneries; Tannery wastes; Tanning; Tanning industry; Total dissolved solids; Total oxygen demand; Total suspended solids; Waste Water - analysis; Wastewater; Wastewater treatment; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water pollution; Water Pollution - analysis; Water pollution control
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-018-7098-0

Microorganisms have great potential to control environmental pollution, particularly industrial sources of water pollution. Currently, leather industry is regarded as the most polluting and suffering from negative impacts due to the pollution it adds to the environment. Chromium, one of the hazardous pollutants discharged from tanneries, is highly toxic and carcinogenic in nature. Effective treatment of tannery effluent is a dire need of the era as a part of environmental management. Among all the wastewater treatment technologies, bioremediation is the most effective and environment-friendly tool to manage the water pollution. The present study evaluated the potential of 11 previously isolated bacterial strains, tolerant to high concentrations of salts and Cr for the bioremediation of tannery effluent. Among all the tested strains, Enterobacter sp. HU38, Microbacterium arborescens HU33, and Pantoea stewartii ASI11 were found most effective in reducing biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), and chromium (Cr) 70, 63, 57, 87, and 54%, respectively, of tannery effluent and proliferated well under highly toxic conditions, at 9 days of incubation. The pollutant removal efficacy of these bacterial strains can be improved by extending the incubation period or by increasing the amount of inoculum.