Abstract

A STUDY ON MICROBIAL DIVERSITY AND PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERISATION OF DETERGENT INDUSTRY EFFLUENT

G. Umamaheswari* and Jisha John

ABSTRACT

An investigation was carried out to assess the detergent industry effluent on the microbial diversity viz. bacteria, fungi and cyanobacteria. Results of one year ecological study revealed that altogether 12 species of bacteria, 13 species of fungi and 29 species of cyanobacteria were isolated from the effluent stream. The species isolated, Pseudomonas with two species and others with single each were recorded. Among the fungi recorded the Aspergillus was found to be dominant with four species viz., A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. luchensis and A. niger. The rest of the genera such as Blastocladia sp, Candida sp, Penicillium javanicum, Saprolespgia sp, Trichoderma viride, Alternaria sp, Fusarium oxysporum and Rhodosporium were recorded with single species each. Altogether 29 species of cyanobacteria belonging to eleven genera were collected from the effluent stream. Among the genera, Oscillatoria dominated the effluent with 10 species followed by Phormidium, Lyngbya, Nostoc and Anabaena with 3 each species, Hapalosiphon with 2 and Microcystis, Plectonema, Fischerella, Chlorogloea and Synechococcus, with single species each. Chlorogloea fritschii and Fischerella ambigua were not observed in summer season. O. subbrevis, O. chlorine, Lyngbya majusculla and N. muscorum were not observed in monsoon season. Higher amounts of phosphates and nitrates with sufficient amount of oxidizable organic matter, limited dissolved oxygen content and slightly alkaline pH were probably the factors favouring the growth of microbes especially cyanobacteria. The utilization of dominant species of cyanobacteria to monitor pollution in detergent effluent has been discussed.

Keywords: detergent industry effluent, bacteria, fungi, cyanobacteria.