Toxicity of reactive red 141 and basic red 14 to algae and waterfleas

Textile wastewater normally has a visible color although it has low concentration. This may affect the aquatic ecosystem. Two dyestuffs, Reactive Red 141 (RR141) and Basic Red14 (BR14) were used as compound models. RR 141 is an anionic dye which has a big molecule whereas BR 14 is a cationic dye and has a small molecule. The target organisms for toxicity test were green algae (Chlorella sp.) and waterfleas (Moina macrocopa). The effect of humic acid on the toxicity of dyestuffs to test organisms was also investigated. From the observation of cell counts, Chlorophyll a and dry weight of algae in the dye solutions for 4 days, it was found that all parameters increased as times increased. This revealed that algae could utilize dyestuffs as a carbon source. However, BR14 gave higher absorbance than RR141 at the wavelength of 430 nm which competed to the Chlorophyll a for algal photosynthesis. This resulted in the 96-h EC₅₀ of BR14 and RR141 to Chlorella sp. were 10.88 and 95.55 mg/L, respectively. As for dye toxicity to waterfleas, the 48-h LC₅₀ of BR14 and RR141 to waterfleas were 4.91 and 18.26 mg/L, respectively. The high toxicity of BR14 to waterfleas related to the small molecule of dye could pass into the cell and was absorbed by organelles of waterfleas. Toxicity of BR14 in humic acid solution to Chlorella sp. showed less toxic than RR141 in humic acid solution. This dues to the negative charge of humic acid could bound with a positive charge of BR14, resulted in low amount of BR14 remaining in the bulk solution. The toxicity of BR14 and RR141 in humic acid solution to waterfleas was increased as humic acid increased. Hence, the proper treatment of textile wastewater to yield low concentration of dyes in the effluent before discharging to the natural water is needed.