Isolation and Selection of Thermophilic Bacteria as Hexavalent Chromium Reducer from Batik Processing Waste Water

Wijiastuti Wijiastuti (Institut Pertanian Bogor)
I Made Artika (Institut Pertanian Bogor)
Novik Nurhidayat (Institut Pertanian Bogor)

Current Biochemistry
Vol. 2 No. 1 (2015)

Hexavalent chromium (Cr VI) in the oxidized state is carcinogenic in humans. Chromium is widely used in various industries, and therefore Cr (VI) can be found in wastes from the industry. Heavy metal Cr (VI) waste, is one type of hazardous wastes, due to the high toxicity of Cr (VI) which is much higher than that of Cr (III). This study was conducted to isolate naturally occurring bacteria from batik wastewater with ability to reduce Cr (VI). Identification of chromate reductase gene was carried out using qPCR method. Results showed that three isolates Bacillus sp.1a, Pseudomonas sp.1b, dan Geobacillus sp.1c have chromate reductase-coding genes. Based on the results of qPCR analysis, the isolate Bacillus sp.1a was predicted to have the highest reduction activity. Hence, this isolate was then subjected to Cr(VI) reduction activity test.