IIT Guwahati researchers develop eco-friendly bacterial treatment for textile dyes

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) have developed an eco-friendly biological method to treat textile wastewater containing toxic azo dyes. The study utilizes a novel bacterium, ‘Brevundimonas sp. AJZ05’, which was isolated from a native textile effluent discharge site.

The bacterium produces azoreductase, an enzyme that attacks the stable azo bonds responsible for the color and chemical stability of synthetic dyes. In testing, the bacterium successfully degraded 98.50% of Direct Blue-6, a common synthetic dye, while producing degradation products that were found to be non-toxic.

This biological approach offers a potential alternative or supplement to conventional chemical and physicochemical treatments, which can be energy-intensive and may generate secondary pollutants. The research was supported by the Indian Ministry of Education through the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship, with additional support from IIT Varanasi.