Enhancing bioremediation with a bacterial isolate resistant to stress and toxicity in industrial waste streams

An indigenous bacterial culture of the genus *Pseudomonas* was isolated from an industrial waste stream; its metabolism is adapted to the presence of xenobiotics, making it optimal for bioremediation. The bacterial isolate was identified based on biochemical tests, protein composition, and gene sequencing. A nutrient medium enriched with 0.1 volume fraction of xenobiotics was optimized for cultivating the isolate. Bioaugmentation of activated sludge with this bacterial isolate (at a concentration of 0.22 g/L) improves the bioremediation process by reducing industrial wastewater treatment time by 6 hours and increasing efficiency by 24.9%. The bacterial isolate demonstrated resilience to stress caused by organic load fluctuations (of 26.3%), evidenced by the retention of desired morphological characteristics and population numbers under toxic and highly toxic conditions. The catabolic potential of the adapted bacterial isolate (40.3%) was demonstrated through the degradation of complex xenobiotics under environmental conditions using bioaugmentation. The application of green technologies, particularly biological processes, is crucial for the circular economy, and bioremediation is set to become increasingly important. Key improvements include faster treatment, higher industrial wastewater purification efficiency, and more effective degradation of complex xenobiotics.