Accumulation of Acid Orange 7, Acid Red 18 and Reactive Black 5 by growing Schizophyllum commune.

The effect of Acid Orange 7, Acid Red 18 and Reactive Black 5 on the growth and decolorization properties of Schizophyllum commune was studied with respect to the initial pH varying from 1 to 6 and initial dye concentration (10-100 mg/L). The optimum pH value was found to be 2 for both growth and color removal of these azo dyes. Increasing the concentration of azo dyes inhibited the growth of S. commune. It was observed that S. commune was capable of removing Acid Orange 7, Acid Red 18 and Reactive Black 5 with a maximum specific uptake capacity of 44.23, 127.53 and 180.17 (mg/g) respectively for an initial concentration of 100 mg/L of the dye. Higher decolorization was observed at lower concentrations for all the dyes. Finally it was found that the percentage decolorization was more in the case of Reactive Black 5 dye compared to the other two dyes used in the present investigation.