Studies on the Removal Efficiency of Phosphate from Wastewater using Pseudomonas sp YLW-7 and Enterobacter sp KLW-2

The addition of phosphorus as phosphate ion is one of the most serious environmental problems because of its contribution to the increased eutrophication process of lakes and other natural waters. Microbial strategies for the removal of environmental pollutants from waste streams or contaminated sites can provide an attractive alternative to traditional methods such as incineration or disposal in landfills. In this study, the efficient phosphate utilizing isolates to remove phosphate from synthetic phosphate wastewater was tested using batch scale process. The most efficient phosphate reducers were isolated and screened from eutrophic lake water samples based on the minimum inhibitory concentration test (MIC). The total heterotrophic bacterial analysis of the samples showed the presence of about 22 phosphate reducers. Among them, Pseudomonas sp YLW-7 and Enterobacter sp KLW-2 were found to be efficient in phosphate reduction. The phosphate removal was observed to be maximum of 68 and 63% in synthetic phosphate wastewater with initial concentration of 100 mg l P at pH 7.2 in glucose carbon source after 72 h by Pseudomonas sp YLW-7 1 and Enterobacter sp KLW-2 respectively. Thus the microorganisms may use the contaminants as nutrients source and might be used in the remediation of phosphate contaminated environments.