HALOPHILIC BACTERIAL STRAIN BACILLUS CEREUS IND 2: A BIOLOGICAL TOOL FOR BIODEGRADATION OF PAPER PULP EFFLUENT

Abstract

The paper industries generate effluent with several types of solid waste, sludge, organic and inorganic substances. These waste composed of various toxic ingredients which affect the physico-chemical characteristics of water bodies, soil
texture, microbial population, flora and fauna of the aquatic and land ecosystem. To reduce the pollutants present in
paper pulp effluent, the novel halophilic bacterial strains were used. These bacteria are able to tolerate wide range of
physico-chemical parameters and produced various types of extracellular enzymes. Therefore, in the present study, the
halophilic bacterial strain Bacillus cereus IND-2 isolated from sediment samples of hyper saline environment was optimized
with physico-chemical parameters and nutritional sources for xylanase production. Maximum xylanase and biomass (2.16
U/ml; 87 mg/ml) were produced by the strain B. cereus IND 2 at 35C temperature, pH 7.5, 1.5 mM NaCl
concentration and 48 hours of incubation. Nutritional sources like sugarcane bagasse, gelation and calcium also induced
maximum xylanase and biomass production in B. cereus IND2. The raw paper pulp effluent was treated with the Xylanase
optimized bacterial strain B. cereus IND 2 for 5 days. As a result, pH, temperature, BOD, COD, TDS, TH and chlorides
content of B. cereus IND 2 treated and pre treated paper pulp effluent were recorded and the percentage of
biodegradation was determined. The bacterial strain B. cereus IND 2 treated paper pulp effluent showed remarkable
biodegradation. In addition, FTIR analysis of bacterial strain treated effluent showed transformation of complex chemical
components into simple chemical components. Thus, bacterial strain B. cereus IND 2 act as a novel bacterial strain for
biodegradation of pollutants in the paper pulp effluent.