Decolorization of indigo carmine by Ganoderma weberianum

Many natural and synthetic dyes present in industrial effluents are resistant to degradation by conventional treatments. Decolorization of indigo carmine were carried out using a newly isolated ligninolytic fungus strain Ganoderma weberianum TZCl. This strain was shown to decolorize indigo carmine efficiently; the optimal pH and temperature were pH 5.0 and 33 degrees C. A decolorization efficiency of 93% was achieved by cultivation for 1 h at an initial dye concentration of 20 mg/L. Furthermore, G. weberianum was shown to be used efficiently and repeatedly in repeated-batch decolorization operations with the mycelia pellets at the different ages. Our results suggest that G. weberianum has promising applications in dye-containing wastewater decolorization.