Abstract
Azo dyes are toxic and recalcitrant environmental pollutants in wastewater and soil in many industrial sites in Asia and Arabic countries. The aim of this study was to find fungal species useful in wastewater treatment and soil remediation efforts. We assessed the ability of different indigenous Aspergillus strains (i.e. A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. niger and A. terreus) to degrade the azo dyes Acid Blue 29 (AB29), Disperse Red 1 (DR1) and Congo Red (CR). The optimal conditions for dye decolorization by the above-mentioned strains appeared to be as follows: temperature range 30–35 °C, pH 7, glucose as the carbon source (10 g/L), ammonium sulphate as the nitrogen source (1.5 g/L) and 100 mg/L initial dye concentration. The Aspergillus strains decolorized all azo dyes more than 86%. The HPLC and GC-MS analyses confirmed that aniline (retention time 9.0 min), 3-nitroaniline (retention time 15.92 min), 4-nitroanline (retention time 17.81 min), N,N’ diethyl-1,4-phenylendiamine (retention time 18.184 min), and benzidine (retention time 15.07 min) were formed as the intermediate metabolites of dye degradation. All Aspergillus strains decolorized 85% of the dyes in synthetic wastewater.
•Four indigenous Aspergillus species were efficient in degrading three azo dyes.•Aspergillus species had slightly different optimal decolorization conditions.•Different intermediates were obtained for each Aspergillus-treated azo dye.•Strains might have potential to treat dye-containing wastewater.