Biodegradation of Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS) by two bacteria isolated from wastewater generated by a detergent-manufacturing plant in Nigeria

Sodium dodecyl sulphate (sds) is an anionic surfactant widely used all over the world,and it is an important foaming component of shampoos,toothpaste and detergents. large quantities of sds are released to the environment and this can cause problems in sewage treatment facilities due to their foaming capabilities and toxicity. the present study aimed at isolating bacteria capable of utilizing sds from sediment and wastewater samples of a detergent manufacturing plant and laundry section of a student residential hall. sediment and wastewater samples were collected and cultured on phosphate buffered medium (pbm) supplemented with sds (pbm-sds) as the carbon source. bacterial identification and growth determination were done using conventional methods and the uv visible light spectrophotometer respectively. the sds-utilizing bacteria were employed in the degradation of sds in a batch culture for 10 days on a rotary shaker at 150 rpm. the residual sds concentration was determined using hplc. a total of eight bacteria belonging to four genera; lysinibacillus,staphylococcus,bacillus and paenibacillus were obtained. all the bacteria tolerated sds to a concentration of 1000 mm. two of the eight sds-degrading bacteria; staphylococcus aureus waw1 and bacillus cereus waw2 were selected for the biodegradation set-up based on their growth consistency. staphylococcus aureus waw1 was able to degrade 36.8% of sds at the end of the biodegradation study while bacillus cereus waw2 was able to degrade 51.4%. the bacteria obtained in this study could prove useful in the bioremediation of wastewater laden with sds,and cleaning up of surfactant from wastewater generated via laundry activities,detergent-manufacturing and other related activities. © 2017 jordan journal of biological sciences.