Biodegradation of Direct Red 80 azo dyes using fungi of the genus Aspergillus

Abstract

Direct Red 80 is a commercially produced azo dye commonly used in textile industry. It belongs to a significant group of textile dyes with high chemical stability and resistance to biodegradation. Microscopic fibrous fungi of the genus Aspergillus, as they were isolated from the sludge lagoon (a place significantly polluted by industrial organics), were utilized for biodegradation of the dye. Experiments on static cultivation took place for 10 and/or 20 days, and the results obtained showed the ability of all applied fungi to reduce the residual dye content by 71-95 %, both separately and in synergy of the mixture of strains. The strongest ability to degrade the dye was demonstrated by the A. candidus strain, which was able to remove up to 97 % of the Direct Red 80 within 20 days.