Assessment and cost analysis of mycoremediated textile effluent for irrigation

In the current study, mycoremediated textile effluents were used for irrigation in a cultivation system to promote resource recycling and cost-effective spinach production. The raw textile effluents from two different textile mills were decolorized by 93.2 and 94.5%, respectively, as well as mineralized by the immobilized novel fungus Geotrichum candidum. Subsequently, both the treated effluents, treated textile effluent 1 (TTE1) and treated textile effluent 2 (TTE2), were used to cultivate spinach. The results indicated that irrigation with TTE1 and TTE2 resulted in ~9% higher spinach yields compared with the control. Moreover, the water use efficiency with the TTE1 and TTE2 treatments was ~1.2 times better than that with the control. The need for fertilizers in the case of spinach cultivation with treated effluents was compensated by the textile effluents as a result of the breakdown and mineralization of the effluent by immobilized G. candidum. Notably, the energy content, dietary fiber and protein content of spinach irrigated with mycoremediated textile effluent were substantially elevated, with values of 34 kcal/100 g⁻¹, 3.4 g 100 g⁻¹ and 6.92 g 100 g⁻¹, respectively. The preliminary cost analysis indicated that the costs of the whole process (from treatment to irrigation) were approximately US$0.35-0.38 m⁻³ (INR 28.22–30.45 m⁻³) of textile effluent. The study concluded that the mycoremediated textile effluent could be efficiently applied for agronomic usages.