CONTINUOUS DECOLORIZATION AND AOX REDUCTION OF BLEACH PLANT EFFLUENTS BY FREE AND IMMOBILIZED TRAMETES-VERSICOLOR

Continuous decolorization of bleach plant effluents was studied using white-rot fungus, Trametes (Coriolus) versicolor. The experiments were carried out using free and immobilized fungus. In the free cell system, 56-77% continuous decolorization and 41-69% AOX reduction were achieved with a retention time of 24 hours. Treatment of bleach plant effluents with the same fungus encapsulated in calcium alginate polymer beads resulted in 76-83% decolorization and 43-59% AOX reduction. These are the highest levels achieved in a continuous bioreactor system using Trametes (Coriolus) versicolor.