Bioremediation of azo dyes

Azo dyes are used in a wide range of applications. They are used to colour textiles and paper packaging, and these synthetic dyes are also hidden behind some of the E numbers listed in the ingredients of food products. Consequently, whilst they may appear harmless to humans and the environment at first glance, under certain conditions they can transform into other substances that are harmful and even carcinogenic to humans. Such conditions are frequently found, for example, in river sediments, where our wastewater ultimately ends up.

HM doctoral candidate Patrick Hanisch is researching the degradation of azo dyes by bacteria. The particular challenge lies not only in the fact that they can become toxic, but also that they persist in soil and water for a long time. Azo dyes often enter the environment via industrial effluent, particularly when effluent is inadequately treated or discharged directly into rivers and other bodies of water.

With the help of beneficial bacteria, Patrick Hanisch is searching for the most effective method of breaking down hazardous substances. To this end, high-throughput cultivation methods are being used to grow bacteria; this work is being carried out in the Biotechnology Laboratory headed by Prof. Dr. Robert Huber at the Department of Engineering and Management (in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Dirk Tischler of Ruhr University Bochum).