Effect of basidiomycete fungi on the discoloration and phytotoxicity of synthetic dye and textile effluent

Abstract

The elimination of toxic wastes from industrial activities, mainly the textile industry, has induced the researchers to seek new techniques that reduce or eliminate the toxicity of these effluents. The textile effluent has a high chemical demand of oxygen and strong coloration, requiring an especific treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluated the decolorizationRemazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR) and textile effluent using pre-selected cultures of basidiomycete fungi: Lentinula edodes, Pleurotusostreatus and Pleutotuspulmorarius, and phytotoxicity of the dye and effluent before and after treatment with fungi. The decolorization test was realized in a liquid medium and the absorbance determined in spectrophotometer. For the dye was used to two pH values (5.0 and 9.0) and concentration (0.1 gL-1 and 0.5 gL-1). Lactuca sativa L. seeds were exposed to dye samples and textile effluents and the parameters evaluated were the germination rate and root lenght. The fungus Pleurotuspulmonarius was the one with the best result on the decolorization of dye RBBR on the both values: pH and concentration. As the textile effluent there was no significant difference among the treatments. In some treatments with the dye germination rate decreased indicating toxicity after decolorization. However there was an increase in root growth in the presence of the dye treated with P.pulmonarius.