Efficient Biodegradation of Food Processing Wastewater using Microbial Consortium: A Case Study

Author: Gandhi S.N. and Raval A.A.

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Abstract

Food products are consumed for their nutritional value and flavourful taste. The colour of food not only stimulates appetite but also enhances its aesthetic appeal to consumers. Wastewater generated by the food sector is significantly loaded with organic substances, nitrogen, phosphorus, dyes, and potentially heavy metals. These waste byproducts, especially the dyes, constitute an estimated 15% of all dyes emitted globally, causing serious harm to aquatic ecosystems. To address this issue, the exploration of an environmentally friendly and self-sustaining treatment method is crucial. This study investigates the use of a microbial consortium consisting of three Enterobacter species that were previously isolated from various textile industries and have demonstrated to be highly effective at removing heavy metals and textile dyes both, individually and in consortia. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of this pre-established consortium in treating food processing wastewater. Our findings suggest that this microbial consortium effectively removes up to 60% of colour and 44% of organic load from food processing wastewater. Consequently, the utilization of microbial consortia, with proven effectiveness in treating textile wastewater, offers substantial promise for application in the food processing industry as well, providing a viable, environmentally sustainable approach to wastewater treatment.

Keywords

Food colours, biodegradation, coagulant-flocculent, microbial consortium, Enterobacter

Conclusion

The present experimental studies on the treatment of food industry effluent using a potent microbial consortium shown significant reduction of various parameters. The efficiency of biodegradation can be credited to the diverse mechanisms inherent to each bacterial strain within the consortium. Of these, colour and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) reductions were most prominent, although other parameters also shown substantial reduction. Each strain present in the consortium has its unique capabilities to remove each parameter efficiently, and collectively they exhibit synergistic approach and enhanced efficiency. It was observed that decolourization began 24 hours into the experiment, reaching its peak after an incubation period of 7 days, with no further changes observed thereafter. The findings suggest that the microbial consortium, primarily comprising Enterobacter species, originally proven efficient in degrading textile dyes, is equally efficient at removing food dyes. The versatility and efficiency of the microbial consortium can be used as an effective treatment for diverse industrial effluents.

References

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How to cite this article

Gandhi S.N. and Raval A.A. (2023). Efficient Biodegradation of Food Processing Wastewater using Microbial Consortium: A Case Study. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(5a): 151-156.