International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, Vol. 2, No.

3, June 2011

Microbial Consortium: A New Approach in Effective

Degradation of Organic Kitchen Wastes

Payel Sarkar, Mukesh Meghvanshi and Rajni Singh

potential to protect the soil against erosion [6] , to enhance

Abstract— Present study was taken up to prepare efficient the soil water retention [7], to reduce soil compactibility, to
microbial consortia with concomitant enzymatic activity for the decrease soil acidity [8], to enhance soil biochemical [9] and
effective degradation of organic kitchen waste. biological activity [10] and to establish a sound soil
Eleven different consortia were prepared and the ecological equilibrium [11]. Additionally, composts can
compatibility of the bacterial strains within the consortia was
checked by gram staining and enzyme production. Seven
protect plants from soil [12] or seed borne pathogens [13].
successful microbial consortia were selected in which all the Hence, compost can be considered as a much-needed soil
bacterial strains concomitantly produced all these enzymes conditioner [14] with generally positive crop yield effects
(amylase, protease, lipase, cellulose) in a specialized media that [15].
are responsible for the degradation of kitchen wastes. Three The exploitation of the metabolic versatility of
consortia (3, 5 and 12) were best producers of all the enzymes microorganisms is advantageous in biological waste
required for kitchen wastes degradation and it was monitored
for 30 days by gradual decrease in the volume of the kitchen
treatment but the actual number of degraders of a target
wastes. The maximum reduction observed was 65% in compound in a mixed culture may only represent 5-10% of
consortia no. 12 and 55% in consortia no 7 in just 21 days the microbial community [16]. To understand how
without any foul smell. microorganisms may be manipulated and exploited to reduce
The degradation of organic wastes by the bacterial consortia the frequency of such breakdowns and shorten start-up times
is highly significant. It reduces the time span of degradation and of biological waste treatment, the important bacterial strains
produces no foul odor. Pretreatment of the kitchen wastes can
actively involved in the degradation of food waste were
also be for mineralization of garbage wastes and further as
biomanure which is a novel approach. isolated and screened.
Thus, the main aim of this study is to develop some
Index Terms—Degradation, Kitchen wastes, Microbial successful bacterial consortium that can concomitantly
consortia, Waste management. degradation different components of the kitchen wastes
with the help of their enzymes in less span of time under
natural conditions without producing any foul odour.
I. INTRODUCTION
An Indian city produces about 0.8 to 1 kg solid wastes per
capita per day (waste management at military station, 2009). II. MATERIALS AND METHODS
These wastes are collected and dumped into the landfills, A. Isolation of Bacteria
causing major pollution [1-3]. This results in loss of Soil samples were collected from different five different
potentially valuable materials that can be processed as areas (Nursery, Agricultural firm, Petrol pump, Oil rich soil
fertilizer, fuel and fodder [4]. The bulk of organic kit from temples and Areas dumped with kitchen wastes) in New
comprising mainly carbohydrates, amino acids, peptides and Delhi and Noida, India. The different bacterial strains were
proteins, volatile acids, fatty acids and their esters are easily isolated using standard serial dilution procedure. The
biodegradable. isolated strains were further characterized on the basis of
The biological treatment of these wastes appears to be their substrate specificity and gram character. They are
most cost effective and carry a less negative environmental maintained on nutrient agar slants at 4°C and with 50%
impact [5]. This process of biological treatment of wastes is glycerol at - 20 °C for future use.
also known as Composting. It is a self-heating, aerobic solid
phase biodegradative process of organic materials under
controlled conditions, which distinguishes it from natural B. Determination of Metabolic Characteristics
rotting. The isolated strains were individually inoculated by single
It has clearly been established that composts have the streaking on selective media such as Starch agar (2% starch),
Skim milk agar, Czapek-mineral salt agar and nutrient agar
Manuscript received on April1, 2011. plates with 1% tributyrin to isolate amylase, protease,
Payel Sarkar was with Amity University, Sec125, Noida-201301, INDIA. cellulase and lipase producers respectively. The inoculated
(e-mail: [email protected]). o
Dr. Mukesh Meghvanshi is with DRDO Labs, Ministry of Defence,
plates were incubated overnight at 37 C and checked for a
Tezpur, INDIA. zone of clearing around each bacterial isolate. For starch
Dr. Rajni Singh is with Amity University, Sec125, Noida-201301, agar, the zone of clearing was observed after flooding the
INDIA.
plates with iodine. The strains showing the positive results

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were subjected to gram staining and their morphology was activity is defined as the amount of enzyme, which releases
determined by light microscopy under oil immersion. 1µmole of reducing sugar as glucose per minute, under the
assay conditions (U/ml/min).
C. Preparation of Bacterial Consortia
To prepare successful microbial consortium, bacterial F. Determination of Food Waste Degradation (Lab
cultures must be compatible with each other in order to Trial)
concomitantly produce all these enzymes required for the The consortia capable of producing all these enzymes
degradation of kitchen wastes. 15 different consortia were concomitantly were further selected for laboratory trials.
o
prepared and incubated overnight at 37 C in 120 rpm. The Laboratory trials were carried out in 5 kg small heaps of
compatibility of the bacterial strains within the consortia was kitchen wastes collected from Amity University’s different
checked by gram staining. Microbial consortium was canteen. Each heaps were inoculated with 5% of consortium
prepared by inoculating 5 over night grown bacterial strains by evenly mixing the inoculum with the wastes and kept
in 20ml of nutrient. under natural condition for 15 days to observe the visual rate
of degradation. The heaps were periodically altered and
D. Media Optimisation water was sprinkled for proper aeration and moisture.

Modified Czapek-mineral salt broth per litre supplemented

with 0.5% starch, tributyrin and milk powder each was used. G. Lab Trials with 25kg of the kitchen waste
1% of each successfully compatible consortium was After the successful degradation of kitchen wastes in lab
inoculated separately in 250 ml of specialized media and trials by the bacterial consortia large scale trials were also set
incubated at 37°C in 120 rpm till 5 days. After every 24 up in closed container with their mouth partially open for
hours, 5 ml of each consortium was taken out to check the adequate aeration and moisture. Each container was 2/3
production of amylase, protease, lipase and cellulase that are filled with 25 kg of kitchen wastes and was inoculated with
responsible for the degradation of kitchen wastes. 5% consortia by evenly mixing the inoculam with the wastes.
It was kept under natural condition for 25 - 30 days to
E. Different Enzymatic Assay of Consortia observe the visual rate of degradation by gradual decrease in
the volume of the waste pile. The heaps were periodically
For enzymatic assays the bacterial consortia were altered and water was sprinkled for proper aeration and
centrifuged at 10,000 rpm for 10 min. The supernatant was moisture.
used for enzymatic assay. The experiments were carried out
in duplicates and standard error was calculated. III. RESULTS
Lipase assay: Lipase activity was assayed titrimetrically at A. Isolation and determination of the metabolic
pH 8.0 with a standard tributyrin as substrate. 1ml tributyrin characteristics of bacteria
was mixed with 3ml of Tris HCl (pH 8.0) to form emulsion. 1
About 80 bacterial cultures were isolated from the above
ml of the enzyme was added to the emulsion. The mixture
mentioned sites of which 35 cultures produced the desired
was incubated at 50°C for 30 min. The liberated fatty acids
enzymes required to degrade the kitchen wastes. Clear zone
were titrated with 50mM NaOH. One unit of activity was
of hydrolysis along the line of streaking were produced by
defined as the amount of enzyme which liberated 1µM
the bacterial strains that can degrade cellulose, pectin and
butyric acid per min under standard conditions.
lipid in CMC agar, Skim milk agar and tributyrin
Protease assay: The enzyme extract suitably diluted,
supplemented agar plates respectively. Amylase producers
was mixed with 50mM glycine - NaOH buffer (pH 9) to
showed clear zone of hydrolysis along the line of streaking in
make 1 ml volume. 1ml of 1% casein (substrate) was added
starch agar plates when flooded with gram’s iodine. Table 1
and incubated for 10 min at 60°C. The reaction was stopped
summarizes the results of all the metabolic characteristics
by addition of 0.5 ml TCA (20%, w/v). The mixture was
allowed to stand at room temperature for 30 min and filtered. TABLE I: PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF
1 ml of the filtrate was mixed with 5 ml of 0.5M Na2CO3 STRAINS.
solution. 0.5 ml of Folin & Ciocalteu’s (phenol reagent) SAMPLE MORPHOLOGY CMC AMYLASE PROTEASE LIPASEE
reagent was added and kept in dark to develop the blue color. A* (-) + + ++ ++
It was estimated spectrophotometrically at 660nm against
Ac2 ( + ) rods ++ - ++ +++
tyrosine as standard. One unit of protease activity was
defined as the amount of enzyme required to liberate1 g A8 ( + ) rods +++ +++ +++ ++
tyrosine per milliliter in 1 min under the experimental A25 ( + ) rods +++ +++ +++ +
conditions used. SAMPLE MORPHOLOGY CMC AMYLASE PROTEASE LIPASEE
Amylase assay (DNSA 3, 5 dinitro salicylic acid methods): A29 ( + ) rods + +++ ++ +
One ml of 1% starch was incubated with different dilutions A35 ( + ) rods +++ ++ +++ ++
of the enzyme extract and 1ml of citrate-phosphate
Ac5 ( + ) cocci +++ - ++ ++
buffer (pH 6.0) and was incubated at 50°C for 30 min. The
reaction was stopped by adding 2 ml of DNS and kept in Ad4 (-) ++ + + +++
boiling water bath for 10 min and absorbance was recorded at Ad10 ( - ) small rods + - ++ +
540nm against glucose as the standard. One unit of enzyme B 56 ( + ) rods ++ + +++ +

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B59 ( + ) rods + ++ +++ +++ lipase and cellulase). The consortia utilized cellulase in a
B69 ( + ) rods ++ +++ +++ + slow pace within 5 days of incubation. Rest all the
components in the media were utilized by the consortia
Ba2 ( - ) small rods +++ - ++ ++
within 24-48 hours of incubation as can be noted from table
Ba2g ( - ) big rods +++ + + +++
3.
B92 ( + ) rods +++ ++ ++ ++
TABLE III: CONCOMITANT PRODUCTION OF VARIOUS ENZYMES BY
B93 ( + ) rods +++ + +++ +
BACTERIAL CONSORTIA IN THE PRODUCTION MEDIA.
C107 (-) ++ +++ ++ -
CONSOR LIPASE CELLULASE AMYLASE PROTEASE
Bb1 (+ + - - + -TIA
E151 ( + ) rods ++ ++ + - 1 +++ ++ (5 days) +++ ++ (4 days)
E162 ( + ) rods ++ +++ ++ + 8 +++ +++ (5 days) +++ +++ (4 days)

Bb3 (- ++ - + ++ 3 + ++ (48 hours) +++ +

10 +++ ++ (48 hours) - +++
Bb4 ( + )cocci +++ - ++ +++
5 +++ +++ (,,) ++ +
Bb5 (- ++ + + +++
12 +++ +++ (,,) - +++
Bd2 ( + )cocci + - ++ +++
7 ++ ++ (,,) +++ +++
C4 (- + - + ++
E163 ( + ) rods + +++ +++ ++
D. Enzymatic Assay
E164 ( + ) rods ++ ++ +++ -
All the 7 consortia produced all the three enzymes. Figure
Bb6 (+ ++ - - +
3 shows that Consortia no 10 was the best lipase producer
Bb7 ( + )cocci + - + ++ followed by consortia no 5 and 12.While Consortia no 12
Bc1 (- + - + ++ was the best protease (figure 2) and amylase (figure 1)
C7 ( + )cocci ++ + ++ +++ producer followed by consortia no 7 and 3.
D10 (+ ++ + + +++
D11 (+ ++ - ++ +++
DW (-) + + + ++

B. Preparation of bacterial consortium

These 35 different enzyme producing bacterial strains
were combined with each other by permutation combination
in order to make different microbial consortia. Table 2
shows that 11 different bacterial consortia were prepared of
which 7 consortia showed the best compatibility when gram
staining was performed. Fong and Tan [ 1 7 ] have also
reported the use of bacterial consortia for degradation of
food wastes. Fig. 1. Amylase production by different consortia.

TABLE II: DIFFERENT COMPOSITION OF THE BACTERIAL CONSORTIA

These 7 consortia showed desired enzyme production.
They were further used for lab trial with 5 kg of kitchen
CONSORTIA COMPOSITION
wastes. Degradation of the kitchen wastes were monitored
1 C7, B56, C4, E162, Bb6
by gradual decrease in the volume for 15 days. The
2 C7, B56, A8, Ac5, DW m a x i m u m reduction observed was 50% in consortia no. 12
3 Bb5, B59, Ba2g, B92, Bb3 and 5. Rest showed the reduction less than 50%.
4 Bb3, E151, Ad11, C107,
5 D10, B93, Bb3, E151, Ad11
6 D10, B93, C107, Bb1, A8
8 E163, Bb7, E164, D11, B69
9 A25, Bc1, Bb7, E164, D11
10 A35, Bb4, A25, Bc1, A29
11 Ad11, B92 A35, Bb4, E162,
12 C107, Bb1, A8, Ac5, DW

C. Concomitant production of various enzymes by

bacterial consortia in the production media
These 7 consortia were further inoculated in modified
Czapek-mineral salt broth to check the concomitant
production of all the four enzymes (amylase, protease, Fig. 2. Protease production by different consortia.

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Fig. 5. Different enzyme production by consortium 12

Fig. 3. Lipase production by different consortia.

E. Lab trials with 25 kg kitchen wastes IV. CONCLUSION

The best 3 consortia (3, 5 and 12) were further selected for The degradation of organic wastes by the bacterial
large scale trial with 25 kg of kitchen wastes. Degradation of consortia is highly significant. It reduces the time span of
the kitchen wastes were monitored by gradual decrease in the degradation and produces no fowl odour. The use of
volume for 30 days. All the 3 consortia showed more than microbial consortium generated through natural selection or
50% degradation in 21 days time while control with no improvement of the performance of these microorganisms in
inoculation showed only 36 % degradation in same time. organic kitchen waste degradation through genetic
Results in figure 4 suggest that the maximum reduction manipulation, may be the best option for the efficient
observed was about 65% in consortia no. 12 and 55% treatment of organic kitchen waste or domestic wastewater in
degradation was exhibited by consortia no.5. All the the near future. The pretreatment of food waste can be used
experiments were carried out in duplicates. for biological solubilization and mineralization in garbage
disposal system which is a novel approach.
volume of kitchen waste ( kg)

30
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20
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[13] C. Schuler, J. Pikny, M. Nasir, and H. Vogtmann, “Effects of Ms. Payel Sarkar was born on 3 December 1983 in
composted organic kitchen and garden waste on Mycosphaerella West Bengal. She did her B.Sc (Hons) in microbiology
pinodes (Ber. Et Blox)Vestergr., causal organism of foot rot on peas from University of North Bengal in 2005 and
(Pisum sativum L.),” Biological Agriculture Horticulture, vol. 9, pp. completed her Masters in microbiology in 2007 from
353–361, 1993. H.N.B. Garhwal University in 2007.
[14] Z. He, X. Yang, B. A. Kahn, P. J. Stoffella, and D.V. Calvert, “Plant She is presently working as Lecturer in
nutrition benefits of phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium Microbiology Dept., University of North Bengal from
and micronutrients from compost utilization,” in Compost 1st Aug’10. Prior to this she was working as a part time
Utilization in Horticultural Cropping Systems, Lewis Publishers, Boca Adhoc Lecturer at Amity Institute of Microbial
Raton, FL, 2000, pp. 307–320. Biotechnology, Amity University from Dec ‘2008 to May 2010. Presently 5
[15] F. Gallardo-Lara, and R. Nogales, “Effect of the application of town M.Sc students are conducting their dissertation project under her supervision.
refuse compost on the soil–plant system: a review,” Biol. Wastes, vol. She has almost 4 years of research experience.
19, pp. 35–62, 1987.
[16] G. S. Sayler, A. Breen, J. W. Blackburn, and O. Yagi, “Predictive Ms. Sarkar was awarded with various scholarships while conducting her
assessment of priority pollutant bio-oxidation kinetics in activated education and research. This includes ASTIF, Amity University Research
sludge,” Environmental Programme, vol. 3, pp. 153 -163, 1984. Scholar Fellowship in 2009, University silver medal in M.Sc. examination
[17] Fong, and Tan, “Isolation of a microbial consortium from activated and University silver medal in B.Sc. examination. She is the life time
sludge for the biological treatment of food waste,” World Journal of member of Association of Indian Microbiologists.
Microbiology & Biotechnology, vol. 16, pp. 441-443, 2000.

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