Bioremediation of Tofu Wastewater Using EM4 and Apu Plant (Pistia stratiotes L.)

Abstract

The number of tofu factories that have been established has resulted in a large amount of waste being produced. Tofu factories that stand on average are small-scale businesses that cannot afford to manufacture their own waste treatment, so that the waste produced is directly disposed into the environment without processing, this can pollute the environment. Waste treatment can be done in a simple way that doesn't require a lot of money, such as bioremediation using EM4 and Apu plant (Pistia stratiotes L.). The aim of this research was to study bioremediation of tofu wastewater in reducing BOD, COD and TSS levels using Effective Microorganism-4 (EM4) and Apu plant (Pistia stratiotes L.). This research using experimental method and Completely Randomized Design (CRD), with 3 treatments (P1, P2 and P3) that is P1 as the control treatment (without EM4 and Apu plant), P2 as the bioremediation treatment using EM4, and P3 as treatment using Apu plant (Pistia stratiotes L.). Each treatment was repeated 7 times. Parameters measured included pH, BOD, COD and TSS of the waste before and after treatment. Observational data were analyzed by ANOVA test then tested by LSD test. The research results showed that there were differences in bioremediation using Effective microorganism-4 (EM4) and Apu plant (Pistia stratiotes L.) but it was not yet effective in reducing BOD, COD and TSS levels in tofu wastewater. The treatment was ineffective because the remediation results still did not meet the quality standarts in East Java Governor Regulation No 52 of 2014.Keywords: EM4, Pistia stratiotes L., tofu wastewater, waste treatment.