Assessment of monthly variation in heavy metal characteristics of Electroplating industrial untreated wastewater at selected sites of Chandigarh

Abstract

With the contest of urbanization and industrial development, electroplating industries have grown rapidly. The different chemicals, metal salts and discharge of large volume of wastewater with inefficient treatment facilities had created the pollution load on water bodies. The present study was carried out to investigate the assessment of the monthly variation of pH and heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Zn, Fe) of electroplating untreated industrial wastewater from the selected study sites viz. SS-1: Atul Industries, SS-2: Suresh Fasteners, SS-3: Bajrang Industrial Company, SS-4: Stylex Industries, SS-5: Karan Industries, SS-6: Avon Industries, SS-7: Geetika Enterprises, SS-8: Atop Fasteners, SS-9: Accufit Fasteners and SS-10: Ashoka Furniture Udyog at industrial area phase I and phase II of Chandigarh. The untreated electroplating wastewater samples were collected from ten study sites (SS-1 to SS-10) and were analyzed following the standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. The results of the present study revealed that the maximum concentration of heavy metals such as Zn (122.20 mg/l)during the month of August 2019 at the SS-8, Ni (156.37 mg/l) during the month of August 2019 at the SS-4, Cr (467.01 mg/l) during the month of October 2019 at the SS-5 and Fe (13.22 mg/l)during the month of December 2019 at the SS-2. The load of metallic ions discharge from the electroplating industries before any treatment from the selected study sites (SS-1 to SS-10) was found in the following order as Cr>Ni>Zn>Fe. Thus the present study would provide baseline data for the development of treatment strategies for wastewater discharge from electroplating industries and also in minimizing the effects of heavy metal contamination of receiving water bodies.