Synthetic dyesSynthetic dyes belong to important class of organic compounds extensively used in textile, paper printing, color photography, leather, plastics, food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries (Ali, Water Air Soil Poll 213:251–273, 2010; Rauf and Ashraf, Chem Eng J 209:520–530, 2012). According to Global Industry Analysts, the production of worldwide synthetic dyes and pigments industries is predicted to reach almost 10 million tons by 2017 which will be worth close to $27 billion (http://www.reportlinker.com/ci02367/Synthetic-Dye-and-Pigment.html). More than 11 % of these compounds produced annually is lost to effluents during application processes. The presence of even small amounts of dyes in water ( © 2015, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.