Response Surface Methodology for Rapid Removal of an Azo Dye Methyl Orange by Indigenous Bacterial Stain (Bacillus Cereus J4)

Abstract

Sulfonated azo dyes such as Methyl Orange (MO) are broadly popular in textiles, paper, food, and printing industries and are mostly discharged through industrial wastewater posing a serious threat to aquatic flora and fauna. As this dye is difficult to degrade by conventional physicochemical methods, it attracts eco-friendly bioremediation methods as an alternative. In the present study, eleven bacterial strains (named J1 to J11), capable of partial/full removal of Methyl Orange (MO) were isolated from the sample collected from the soil and effluents of the industrial area, Panipat, Haryana, India using the standard plate count method. Of these eleven, J4 showed encouraging results and was subjected to further studies. Initial morphological and biochemical characteristics showed the strain to be gram-positive, rod-shaped, non-motile, MR+ve, and VP-ve reaction. The J4 strain is unable to utilize citrate, urea, and indole. Additionally, it showed an oxidase +ve and catalase -ve reaction during the study. 16SrRNA sequence revealed the isolated J4 strain as Bacillus cereus and a maximum decolorization efficiency at 50 mg/L concentration of Methyl Orange (MO) dye within 40h at pH 7 and 370C. The optimization and statistical optimization studies of important Physico-chemical parameters of the strain (Bacillus cereusJ4OQ392442) have been done. Under optimal conditions, the bacterial strain was able to decolorize completely (>89%) the dye within 40 h. Further study may establish the Bacillus cereusJ4 (OQ392442) bacterial strain as a promising candidate for dye-containing effluent treatment in an eco-friendly modus.

https://doi.org/10.52783/jchr.v14.i2.3588