Polyvinyl alcohol degradation by Microbacterium barkeri KCCM 10507 and Paenibacillus amylolyticus KCCM 10508 in dyeing wastewater

The purpose of this study was to investigate the degradation of PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) contained in dyeing wastewater by a mixed culture of Micrabacierium barkeri KCCM 10507 and Paenibacillus amylolyticus KCCM 10508. Firstly, synthetic wastewater which contained different initial concentrations of PVA varying from 50 to 3,500 mg/l were tested to obtain optimal PVA biodegradation activity of isolated strains, and the above two strains were found to degrade PVA up to 90%, when the initial concentration of PVA was 750 mg/l and below. Next, dyeing wastewater was tested by a mixed culture of the two isolated strains, and 42% and 55% of the initial concentrations of PVA and COD, respectively, was removed after five days. MLSS was gradually increased from an initial 1,400 to 2,500 mg/l, and the pH was also increased from 5.1 to 7.8. Sterilized dyeing wastewater was tested to find the effect of strains only on the biodegradation of PVA, and PVA degradation ratio and COD removal ratio were 50% and 72.8%, respectively. Thus, the results indicated that these two strains have good ability to degrade PVA and remove COD in dyeing wastewater. Finally, it is expected that if these two strains were used in the dyeing wastewater treatment, good efficiency for PVA degradation and COD removal could be achieved.