Bioremediation of Selected Heavy Metals from Industrial Influent Collected at Wupa Wastewater Treatment Plant, Abuja

Abstract

One of the primary issues brought about by the industrialization's rapid development is aquatic pollution. Utilizing microorganisms to remediate industrial wastewater (IWW) is a sustainable approach. This study was conducted to assess pollution load in Wupa wastewater treatment plant and to use introduced microbes (Bacillus subtillis and Aspergillus niger) individually and in a consortium for bioremediation. The Wupa wastewater treatment plant in Abuja provided the wastewater samples, which were then analysed for heavy metal content and other physicochemical characteristics. Measurements were made of the pH, colour, temperature, turbidity, electrical conductivity (EC), total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), and total dissolved solids (TDS). Wastewaters samples were subjected to heavy metal analysis using Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). For eight days, a container experiment was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the chosen species. Selected species were used to remediate the wastewater samples both alone and collectively. Following treatment, turbidity (41.2%), BOD (95.2%), COD (96%), TSS (87-99%), TDS (27-8%), and EC (45-8%) all showed significant decreases. Following the experiment, atomic absorption spectrophotometry was used to determine the metal concentrations in water samples. 98.4% of Zn, 92.4% of Fe, and 92.4% of Mn were eliminated by the chosen species. Heavy metal removal percentage from Wupa wastewater using Aspergillus niger and Bacillus subtillis. Zinc significantly (p>0.05) record high removal efficiency as compared to Mangane and Iron in the waste water treated with Bacillus subtilis, A. Niger and the combination of both organisms.The bioremoval efficiency of Aspergillus niger and Bacillus subtillis for heavy metals in Wupa wastewater. The control treatment significantly (p<0.05) has lower bioremoval efficiency of the heavy metals (Manganese, Iron and Zinc) when compared to the waste water treated with Bacillus subtilis, A. Niger and the combination of both organisms. Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that the Bacillus subtillis and Aspergillus niger and other ingineous wastewater isolsates had the capacity to resist and grow on heavy metals and thus contributes in the removal of heavy metals present in the wastewater by absorbing them which also increased the biomass of the microbes.