A study of the Characteristics of Wastewater on the Euphrates River in Iraq

Abstract

Heavy metal toxicity and persistence are becoming major issues for people. These heavy metals mostly gather in wastewater from effluents released by different industries. The effectiveness of hazardous metal particle removal is currently just one recent trend in research; another is the efficient re-use of these particles as catalysts. The study was conducted for five sites on the Euphrates River in Anbar Governorate, western Iraq (Al Muḩammadī, Al-Khalidiya, Al-Habbaniya, Al-Saklawiya, Amirya Al-Falluja) with four stations for each site (the beginning of the estuary, after the estuary and before the estuary) and for four seasons (Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring) from October 2021 to October 2022 to study spatial and temporal variation on the physical and chemical properties of the Euphrates River water in these locations. Sampling sites on the Euphrates River were selected based on these sites of waste, pollutants and heavy metal components that may flow into the river without environmental control. So, the study aimed at investigating the distribution of heavy metals (HMs: Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), Nickel (Ni), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd)) in the sediments of the river for five sites in the west of Iraq. In the edge of the river (water) the Hardness, Salinity, algaes have been examined and for (sediments) the compounds (nitrite (NO2) and Sulfate (SO4)) and HMs concentration were measured too, and a qualitative study was conducted during the different seasons and sites. 79 types of algae were identified and some species prevailed in all studied sites. The quantitative study showed an increase in the number of algae species indicative of pollution in the sites in each station (the beginning, before and after the estuary), which confirms that these sites are affected by the untreated sewage pollutants thrown into the Euphrates River in those sites. The average concentrations of HMs and compounds in the sediments were as follows: SO4> NO2>Mn>Fe>Cu>Ni>Pb>Cd. The analysis showed that the pollution of cites by the HMs was as follows Al Muḩammadī, Al-Khalidiya, Al-Habbaniya, Al-Saklawiya, Amirya Al-Falluja cites concentrations are higher in sediments.