Phytoremediation of secondary canteen wastewater by using water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficiency of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) to treat the secondary canteen wastewater, and to find the optimum concentration of wastewater that suitable for application of water hyacinth. The wastewater parameters before and after treatment were analyzed including pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), total phosphorus (TP), total suspended solids (TSS), fat oil and grease (FOG). The parameters of plant including biomass, protein content and total carbohydrate were also determined. The canteen wastewater was treated by biochar for primary treatment. Then, the wastewater was diluted at the concentrations of 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75%. The water hyacinth was planted in each treatment for 15 days. The result showed that the maximum removal efficiency of BOD, COD, TKN, TP, TSS, and FOG at the 25% of concentration of wastewater were 93.31%, 89.83%, 38.97%, 76.81%, 100%, and 20.90%, respectively. The highest biomass of water hyacinth was 5.50 g. at the 25% of concentration of wastewater. The protein content and total carbohydrate of water hyacinth were 0.59 and 0.40 g/g biomass respectively, at the 25% of concentration of wastewater. This study concluded that water hyacinth was effective for the treatment of secondary canteen wastewater at the 25% of concentration of wastewater.