Decolorization of azo dyes with high salt concentration by salt-tolerant mixed cultures under anaerobic conditions.

Because the lack of detailed study of biological decolorization in high salt dye wastewater, it is still difficult to evaluate the biological treatment on high-salinity dye wastewater. The experiments were carried out to study the salt-tolerant bacteria, which is useful in the treatment of high-salinity colored wastewater. Simulated wastewater containing 5-150 g/L salt (NaCl) and 50-2000 mg/L Reactive Brilliant Red K-2BP was treated with three salt-tolerant mixed cultures (CAS, TAS, DSAS), which were under a gradually acclimated procedure. With the increase of concentrations of salt and dye, the decolorization became low. The abilities of decolorization of dyes wastewater by three mixed cultures (CAS, TAS, DSAS) were studied, CAS and DSAS mixed cultures showed more active for the treatment of high-salinity colored wastewater than TAS mixed cultures. The results suggested that there might be a simple process for the high salt wastewater treatment, which could be incorporated into conventional activated sludge plants.