Biodegradation of Brown 706 Dye by Bacterial Strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Dyes are the most challenging pollutants for the aquatic environment that are not only toxic, but also interfering photosynthesis as light penetration into deep water is changed. A number of methods are used for the water reclamation, however, among them biological methods are preferably used due to their compatibility with nature. In the present research, 15 different bacterial strains were used to decolorize Brown 706 dye. Among the bacterial strains, Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed maximum decolorization activity; hence in the subsequent experiments Pseudomonas aeruginosa was used. First the decolorization activities were carried out under different physicochemical conditions to obtain the optimum decolorization benefits of the selected microorganism. The optimum conditions established were 37°C, pH of 7 and operation cycle time 72 h. In the subsequent experiment all optimum conditions were combined in a single experiment where 73.91% of decolorization efficiency was achieved. For the evaluation of metabolites formed after decolorization/degradation the aliquots containing bacteria were homogenized, filtered and then subjected to extraction. The extracted metabolites were then subjected to the silica gel column isolation. UV–Vis, FTIR, and NMR techniques were used to elucidate structures of the metabolites. Out of the collected metabolites only P-xylene was identified, which has been formed by cleavage of azo linkage by azo reductase enzyme of bacteria following the deamination and methylation of nitro substituted benzene ring.