Isolation of a Microorganic Strain for the High Volume Degradation of Aniline Blue and Its Application in Natural Sewage Treatment

Abstract

Aniline blue, one of the triphenylmethane dyes, is the most commonly produced and used of these dyes yet it is also the most dangerous and the most serious cause of pollution amongst them. An exploration of aniline blue degradation is likely to facilitate an understanding of the degradation mechanism for a range of related dyes. In this study, we managed to isolate a particular strain of microorganism, identified to be Lysinibacillus fusiformis N019a, which showed a significant capacity for aniline blue degradation in both laboratory tests and natural sewage treatment. In analysis aided by a UV-Visible spectrophotometer, we found that 96.7% of aniline blue had degraded within 24 hours under laboratory conditions. When treating natural sewage, 80.1% of the aniline blue was removed after just 16 hours. Further analysis has shown that Lysinibacillus fusiformis N019a has a strong resistance to Cu2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, and Pb2+. We also found that the degradation product of aniline blue by Lysinibacillus fusiformis N019a was of reduced toxicity to plants and microbes.