Decolorization of textile dyestuff Reactive Orange 16 in fed-batch reactor under anaerobic condition

Biological decolorization of textile dyestuff Reactive Orange 16 was investigated in a fed-batch reactor by using facultative anaerobic bacterial consortium called PDW. Effects of different operating parameters like flow rate (Q=50–300 ml/h), dyestuff concentration (50–600 mg/l) and yeast extract concentration (1–5 g/l) on decolorization efficiency were studied. Reaction cycle was varied between 2 and 7 h depending on the feeding rate. System was operated at room temperature (T=19±1 °C) and at pH=7. The experimental results indicated that over 90% efficiency can be obtained up to 350 mg/l dyestuff concentration and 200 ml/h feeding rate. Three grams per liter yeast extract concentration as sole carbon source was enough to obtain around 95% color removal.