Biodegradation of Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate and Methyl Paraben in Shampoo and Hair Dressing Salon Waste by Bacteria from Sewage Treatment Sludge

The present study investigated the biodegradation of Sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and Methyl paraben (MP) both in Shampoo and Hair dressing salon wastewater using bacteria isolated from sewage treatment sludge. The biodegradation was carried out according to the OECD Guideline for ready biodegradability and was monitored by standard spectrophotometric methods. The results obtained indicated that these compounds were degraded biotically by simple bacteria identified using a Microgen Kit for bacteria characterization. Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pnemoniae degraded 98.3% of the original SDS level in the Standard SDS solution on 7 days of incubation; Klebsiella planticola and Proteus vulgaris degraded 98.9% of the original SDS level for 10 days of incubation and 94.4% of MP on 13 days of incubation in the Shampoo solution; Vibro cholera, Pseudomonas beteli and Escherichia coli degraded 98.1% of the initial SDS level on 5 days of incubation and 90.5% of the initial MP level on 4 days of incubation; Pseudomonas aeuroginosa, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus degraded 92.0% of the MP level in the standard MP solution on 7 days of incubation while the inoculum control was found to contain Pseudomonas aeuroginosa Salmonella typhi . In conclusion, the results of this study suggested that this method of biodegradation of surfactant is cost effective and using bacteria as a biodegradation agent is environmently friendly.