Optimized decolorization of two poly azo dyes Sirius Red and Sirius Blue using laccase-mediator system.

Factors, namely pH, laccase-like activity, dyes concentration as well as 1-Hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT) concentration was examined. The results indicated that the maximum decolorization yield and rate reached 98.30 ± 0.10% and 5.84 ± 0.01%/min, respectively for Sirius Blue, and 99.34 ± 0.47% and 5.85 ± 0.12%/min, respectively for Sirius Red after 4 h. The presence of the redox mediator 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT) greatly improved the decolorization levels. The optimum concentrations of HBT, dyes, and laccase were 0.62 mM, 50 mg/L, and 0.89 U/mL respectively at pH 4.58 for both dyes. Phytotoxicity tests using treated and untreated dyes proved that the applied treatment slightly decreased the toxicity of the by-products. However, the germination index (GI) increased from 14.6 to 36.08% and from 31.6 to 36.96% for Sirius Red and Sirius Blue, respectively. The present study focused on the treatment of two recalcitrant azo dyes, namely: Sirius Blue (Direct Blue 71) and Sirius Red (Direct Red 80). The decolorization was performed using cell-free supernatant from culture with high laccase activity. Response surface methodology (RSM) and Box-Behnken design were applied to optimize the decolorization of the two tested dyes. The effect of four.