Biotechnological Approaches for Textile Effluent Treatment

Abstract

The textile industry drives economic growth and improves human welfare, yet it remains a significant source of industrial water pollution. Textile effluents contain dyes, salts, and auxiliary chemicals from dyeing, printing, and washing processes, many of which are toxic, carcinogenic, persistent, and resistant to degradation. These pollutants threaten human health and aquatic ecosystems. Conventional physicochemical treatments are often costly, energy-intensive, and generate secondary pollutants, limiting their sustainability. Biotechnological approaches are eco-friendly and cost-effective alternatives, but are limited by the complexity and toxicity of textile wastewater. This chapter reviews current biotechnological strategies for textile effluent management, emphasizing bacterial, fungal, and algal dye-decolourisation, their enzymatic degradation mechanisms, and factors influencing treatment performance. It also discusses biodegradation pathways, key operational challenges, and emerging strategies to improve the efficiency and industrial use of biological treatment technologies.