ISOLATION OF CADMIUM DEGRADING MICROORGANISMS FROM ELECTROPLATING, STEEL AND BATTERY INDUSTRY

Increase in industrialization has raised the levels of heavy metal pollution in the country. In order to combat with this problem, many strategies were developed till date, and among them, the use of microorganisms is the most successful technique. The present study was undertaken for isolation, identification, and characterization of heavy metal (Cd) tolerant bacteria from industrial effluents of electroplating, steel and battery industry SAS Nagar, Punjab and Chandigarh (India). The effluents were initially tested for physicochemical parameters (BOD, COD, TDS. TSS. etc.).The cadmium content was quantified through spectrophotometric assay. Initially, a total of 20 bacterial isolates were isolated and screened, then the effect of selected strain on all the parameters of test samples was checked. On the basis of performance to cadmium tolerance, only two isolates were selected. These bacteria could tolerate cadmium up to 1000 ppm and 1500ppm. These isolated bacteria may be helpful for the bioremediation of heavy metal contaminated industrial effluents.