Decolorization of Textile Dyes in a Fixed-Bed Biofilm Reactor

A fixed-bed biofilm reactor (FBBR) was developed and its performance in decolorizing synthetic dye mixtures and textile industry effluents was evaluated in both batch and continuous modes. It was observed that yeast extract was important as the carbon source in the FBBR feed for color removal. However, the requirement for yeast extract in FBBR is very small compared to that in suspended cell cultures. Structural changes in dyes due to biological treatment were assessed from ultraviolet-visible spectral and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses. Gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS) investigations confirmed that the metabolites formed were nontoxic and benign.

Automated summary

A fixed-bed biofilm reactor (FBBR) was developed and its performance in decolorizing synthetic dye mixtures and textile industry effluents was evaluated. The study found that yeast extract played a crucial role in color removal, although the amount required in FBBR was significantly smaller than in suspended cell cultures. Structural changes in dyes were assessed using ultraviolet-visible spectral and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses. Gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS) investigations confirmed the formation of non-toxic and benign metabolites.