Efficiency of Eichhornia crassipes in the treatment of raw kitchen wastewater

Abstract

The present water crisis mandates the reuse of wastewater for non-potable purpose. In this study, raw kitchen wastewater (KWW) was treated using Eichhornia crassipes, as a low-cost and eco-friendly remediation method. The advantage of Eichhornia crassipes is quick and high efficiency for removal of pollutants from wastewater. It was found that during characterization of raw KWW, the value of pH and the concentration of nitrate nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen were exceeding the permissible limit for irrigation water quality. A field experiment was conducted for 21 days, and the physicochemical parameters were monitored at 3 days of interval. After treatment, the concentration of nitrate nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen reduced to 97.79% and 92.03%, respectively, within 15 days, whereas the pH value increased from 4.3 to 6.67. It was found that Eichhornia crassipes showed good reduction efficiency for BOD 5 (77.23%), ammonium nitrogen (92.03%), total organic carbon (39.24%) and total suspended solids (95.94%) as compared to control (KWW sample without Eichhornia crassipes). An increase of 50% biomass of Eichhornia crassipes was observed at the end of the experiment. The study found that the treated KWW can be reused for irrigation purpose as it satisfied irrigation standard guidelines.

Identification for the species of aquatic higher plants in the Taihu Lake basin based on hyperspectral remote sensing

“…Regarding the sediment in the polluted water body, the research shows that Lythrum salicaria is suitable as the pioneer plant for removing nitrogen and phosphorus in water when the salinity of sediment is 0%, while Typha orientalis is more suitable as the pioneer plant for removing nitrogen and phosphorus in when the salinity of sediment is 1% (Xiaochuan Liu, 2013). In terms of the biomass and coverage of aquatic plants, taking Eichhornia crassipes as an example, Eichhornia crassipes grows rapidly, which can absorb a large amount of nutrients and heavy metals in the water body and stabilize the pH of the water body (Parwin & Paul, 2019;Tabinda et al, 2019). Relevant studies have shown that when Eichhornia crassipes doesn't endanger the survival of other animals and plants when its coverage rate is below 25%, but it will shield sunlight and reduce the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water body once it covers the water surface in a large area (Villamagna & Murphy, 2010).…”

Systematic Review of the Efficiency of Aquatic Plants in the Wastewater Treatment

“…In table 5, We found that the most efficient aquatic plant was Eichhornia crassipes where the removal is quantified in N (97.79%), Ammonium (92.03%), BOD5 (77.23%), COD (157.63%), TOC (39.24%), TSS (95.94%), TDS (75.17%), oil and grease (99.33%) in 21 days, It is worth mentioning that this aquatic plant is in high demand for use both for residential discharges and minor housing; however, it was Pistia stratiotes that in a 60-day treatment achieved the removal of Turbidity (98.5%), total N (100%), total BOD (100%) and COD (79.18%) [38] [29].…”