Reactive dye bioaccumulation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The growth and reactive dye bioaccumulation properties of Saccharomyces cerevisiae growing in molasses medium was investigated in a batch system as a function of dye, initial pH and initial dye concentration. Three diazo reactive textile dyes, Remazol Blue, Remazol Black B and Remazol Red. RB, were used in this study. Optimum pH value for bioaccumulation was determined as 3 for all the dyes tested. The maximum bioaccumulation capacity of S. cerevisiae was 88.5 mg g(-1) for Remazol Black B, 84.6 mg g(-1) for Remazol Blue and 48.8 mg g(-1) for Remazol Red RB. Higher bioaccumulation percentages were observed at lower concentrations of all dyes. In general, the increase in dye concentration inhibited the growth of yeast and caused a long lag period. Remazol Black B bioaccumulation by yeast at all dye concentrations studied was considerably higher among the dyes examined. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.