Effectiveness ofEichhornia crassipesin nutrient removal from domestic wastewater based on its optimal growth rate

Abstract

AbstractWater hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) was used to determine their efficiency in treating domestic wastewater. The wastewater sample was collected from the stabilization pond located at the University Technology Malaysia, and was determined for different parameters like pH, chemical oxygen demand (COD), phosphate (), nitrate (), ammonical nitrogen (NH3), total organic carbon (TOC), and biomass growth rate. A batch system fabrication was set up which contained 1 kg of fresh plant (E. crassipes) and the experiment was run for 21 d in order to correlate nutrient uptake and biomass growth rate. All the parameters were determined according to APHA standard and compared with Interim National Water Quality Standards, Malaysia (INWQS).The phytoremediation treatment of wastewater with water hyacinth showed pH ranging in between 5.3 and 6.3. Moreover, a considerable percentage of reduction was observed in most of the parameters used which included COD, TOC, and NH3, when compared to the INWQS standard. The c...