Degradation of Azo-dye (Disperse Red) Using Rhizosphere Bacterial Consortium

This study investigates the degradation of the azo dye (Disperse Red) using a rhizosphere bacterial consortium. Standard microbiological and molecular techniques were employed to isolate and identify organisms from rhizosphere soil. Degradation of azodye was carried out in a fabricated anoxic and oxic chambers with hydraulic retention time of 40hrs. Initial identification of the bacterial isolates through Gram’s reaction and biochemical tests revealed the presence of organisms belonging to the genera Pseudomonas, Lysinibacillus, and Citrobacter. Molecular and phylogenetic analyses confirmed the isolates as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Lysinibacillus sphaericus, Pseudomonas chengduensis, and Citrobacter freundii. During the preliminary testing, the degradation efficiency was assessed under varying glucose concentrations. Higher decolorization rate of 56.17% was observed in the medium with 10% glucose after 72 hours, while the medium with 5% glucose achieved a 44.17% colour reduction. Notably, lower degradation rates recorded were 11.96% and 12.85% for the 5% and 10% dye enhance glucose mineral salt media, respectively. However, During the actual degradation testing in a double-chamber system enhanced with biochar, the first anaerobic cycle achieved a maximum decolorization of 71.95% after 94 hours, with the first aerobic cycle further enhancing degradation to 90.51%. The second anaerobic cycle increased degradation to 94.78%, and the final aerobic cycle achieved a decolorization of 98.47%. These results show that the rate of Disperse Red degradation is highly dependent on glucose levels and alternating anaerobic-aerobic conditions. This study demonstrates the potential of using rhizosphere bacterial consortia to bioremediate wastewater contaminated with azo dyes, offering an efficient and sustainable method of environmental management. The results underline the need of optimizing ambient conditions to increase microbial degradation processes.