Exploring Extracellular Hydrolytic Enzyme and Bio Flocculant-Producing Bacterial Isolates for Bioremediation of Vegetable Oil Refinery Effluent.

Abstract

The process of vegetable oil refining generates an enormous amount of wastewater. This study focused on characterization of vegetable oil refinery effluent (VORE) sample untreated and treated by bacteria for various physicochemical parameters. The sample has high COD and BOD; 12.32g/L and 1.7g/L respectively, this highlights the need for proper treatment. The VORE samples were treated by bacteria producing extracellular hydrolytic enzymes and bioflocculant, identified as B. licheniformis, S. stutzeri, B. amiloliquificance and, S. mutabilis. The bacterial treatment was performed in a separate 250ml flask containing 100ml effluent and inoculated with 2% of respective 24h grown culture. The bacterial treatment achieved a significant decrease in BOD and COD. The treated effluent showed significant increase in seed germination representing a reduction in toxicity in comparison to untreated effluent. This highlights the suitability of present study isolates for VORE treatment with high BOD and COD.