Biological Decolourization of Textile and Paper Effluents by Pleurotus florida and Agaricus bisporus (White-rot Basidiomycetes)

Summary The extracellular ligninolytic enzymes of white-rot fungi are thought to catalyse the initial steps during the degradation of highly complex compounds like lignin or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. We studied the ability of Pleurotus florida isolated from the foothills of the Western Ghats, India to decolourize the three dyestuffs, Reactive Green, Yellow and Blue, which are widely used in the textile industry around Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. The crude culture filtrate of Pleurotus florida when incubated with different concentrations of dye decolourized it efficiently on the third day. The highest colour removal was found in the case of Reactive Blue. However, when Agaricus bisporus extract was supplemented with Pleurotus florida filtrate, the efficiency increased. The dye decolourization was advanced to the second day and the efficiency of dye decolourization of Reactive Yellow was 89% followed by Reactive Green, which was 45% when a dye concentration of 0.5% was used. Pleurotus florida filtrate alone and in combination with Agaricus bisporus extract reduced the aromatic compounds in textile and paper industry effluents on the first day with >90% efficiency.