Abstract
Microbiological decolorization and degradation is an environmental friendly and cost-effective alternative to the chemical decomposition methods. Most of the fungi are robust organisms which are generally more tolerant to high concentration of pollutants. White rot fungi have the ability to attack a wide range of recalcitrant compounds including dyes. White rot fungi Trametes hirsuta was taken for textile effluent degradation. Spectroscopic studies were carried out at every 24 hours interval. UV-VIS spectrophotometric studies on fungal treated effluent showed that the decolorization was due to biodegradation of the effluent and not because of bioadsorption. From FT-IR study, the break up of azo dye was confirmed with the disappearance of azo peak at 48 hours of the treatment.