Decolorization and degradation analysis of Disperse Red 3B by a consortium of the fungus Aspergillus sp. XJ-2 and the microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana XJK

Disperse Red 3B, an anthraquinone dye, was decolorized by a consortium, which was constituted of the fungus (Aspergillus sp. XJ-2) and the microalgae (Chlorella sorokiniana XJK). The consortium performed better than the single system in terms of decolorization and nutrient removal simultaneously in the simulated wastewater of Dispersed Red 3B. The decolorization rate could reach 98.09% by the consortium under the optimized conditions. The removal rate of COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand), TP (Total Phosphorus), and ammonia nitrogen reached 93.9%, 83.9% and 87.6%. Also, the consortium could tolerate higher salt and dye concentration than the single system did. In this co-cultural system, the lignin peroxidase and manganese peroxidase enzyme activities contributed to the degradation of Disperse Red 3B, which reached 86.7 U L(−1) and 122.5 U L(−1). The result of fermentation liquid analysis with UV-vis, FTIR and GC-MS showed that the colored functional group of the dye was broken and the Dispersed Red 3B was degraded into small molecular compounds with low toxicity. It was suggested that degradation plays a major role during the color removal process. The consortium exhibited greater potential in terms of color removal and water pollutant removal than the separate system did.