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ISSN 2063-5346
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Assessment of pollution load in sewage water and treatability potential of aquatic plants

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G. Gupta, J. Khan, N. K. Singh*
» doi: 10.48047/ecb/2023.12.12.80

Abstract

In present study, pollution load particularly organic material was assessed in the sewage water with its treatment by using efficient aquatic plants in the controlled laboratory condition. Sewage samples were collected from the urban area of the Jaipur city, India and analyzed for wastewater quality parameters. Various wastewater quality parameters recorded viz. pH, 7.52; Electrical Conductivity (EC), 7.6 μS/cm; Phosphate, 2.85 mg/L; NO3-N, 3.21 mg/L; NH3-N, 6.06 mg/L; TSS, 165.7 mg/L; TDS, 521.424 mg/L; VSS, 121.9 mg/L; BOD = 152 mg/L, COD, 575 mg/L; Cl, 2336.27 mg/L including metal content as Cu, 0.1657 mg/L; Cd, 0.0736 mg/L; Cr, 0.1454 mg/L and Pb, 1.0842 mg/L in the raw sewage. Locally growing aquatic plants viz Phragmites karka, Eichhornia crassipes, and Spinacia oleracea in the sewage contaminated area were selected for sewage treatment for different duration. Improvement in wastewater quality parameters were observed during the sewage treatment by growing selected aquatic plants in the raw sewage. Results indicate the plant Eichhornia crassipes, Phragmites karka, and Spinacia oleracea were found to reduce BOD level by 68 to 73% and COD by 62 to 70% in the sewage water. The plant, Eichhornia crassipes emerged as more efficient plant to reduce BOD level, however, Phragmites karka found more effective in removing metal (Cr) and Spinacia oleracea removed NO3-N more efficiently. Present study concludes that using efficient aquatic plants in combination for sewage treatment could be a low cost and sustainable technology for wastewater management and environmental safety.

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