Harnessing the Potential of Bacterial Consortia and Biosurfactants for Bioremediation of Textile Effluent and Contaminated Soil

Untreated textile effluent includes toxic dyes, and its disposal often contaminates the soil. In the present study, we explore the possibility of an eco-friendly method using biosurfactant-producing bacteria consortia isolated from textile effluent contaminated soil of Sanganer, Jaipur, and its biosurfactant for bioremediation of soil. The bacterial consortia could reduce the surface tension from 72.06 to 29.00 mN/m and result in a maximum emulsification index (E24) of 63.3%. They could decolorize textile effluents by 94.74%. This was made possible by the bacterial cell's production of laccase enzyme and the extracellular production of the anionic biosurfactant, which created a micelle of the toxic dye and used anionic flocculation to carry out the treatment. The crude biosurfactant could bioremediate soil. The phytotoxicity analysis of treatment of the contaminated soil with biosurfactants resulted in a 93% germination index, high root and shoot biomass of the plant, and increased mineral content of the soil. Results showed that the biosurfactant was effective in enriching the soil with macro- and micronutrients.