Reduction of BOD and COD of waste water by native bacteria isolated from herbal distillation industry

The waste produced by households, industry and factories to use as wash water and cooling systems and equipment, is caused environmental complications. Waste created a suitable environment for the growth of odor and pathogenic bacteria. This study aimed to isolate microorganisms in the wastewater and use them for the reduction of BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) and COD (chemical oxygen demand).The samples were collected aseptically from different parts of wastewater of herbal distillation industry. The bacterial strains were isolated from the samples in LB media. The isolates were distinguished based on the morphology and biochemical characteristics. Among the total 69 isolates, four isolates were selected to measure the ability to reduce BOD and COD and added to the waste water. Reduction of BOD was measured using BOD meter. Also, COD was determined by titration method. The isolates were identified by biochemical tests. The amount of BOD and COD reduction after adding selected strains to wastewater was 47.43 - 71.82% and 44.79 - 56.5% respectively. Also, the consortium of bacterial strains showed better ability to reduce BOD and COD (38.32-57.29%and 76.6-83.21% respectively). The results determined that wastewater contains bacterial strains which have shown significant reduction in BOD and COD and organic matter decomposition in wastewater and reuse it in agricultural and industrial sectors. Therefore, we can use these bacteria for wastewater treatment.