Decolorization of Distillery Spent Wash Using Biopolymer Synthesized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated from Tannery Effluent

A bacterial strain was isolated from tannery effluent which can tolerate high concentrations of potassium dichromate up to 1000 ppm. The isolated microorganism was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa by performing biochemical tests and molecular characterization. In the presence of excess of carbohydrate source, which is a physiological stress, this strain produces Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). This intracellular polymer, which is synthesized, is primarily a product of carbon assimilation and is employed by microorganisms as an energy storage molecule to be metabolized when other common energy sources are limitedly available. Efforts were taken to check whether the PHB has any positive effect on spent wash decolorization. When a combination of PHB and the isolated bacterial culture was added to spent wash, a maximum color removal of 92.77% was found which was comparatively higher than the color removed when the spent wash was treated individually with the PHB and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. PHB behaved as a support material for the bacteria to bind to it and thus develops biofilm, which is one of the natural physiological growth forms of microorganisms. The bacterial growth in the biofilm and the polymer together acted in synergy, adsorbing and coagulating the pollutants in the form of color pigments.