Efficiency of Some Chemical Reagents with Ultrafiltration System in the treatment of Abattoir Wastewater

Abstract

The study seeks to evaluate the concentration of some toxicants in abattoir wastewater prior to treatment and after treatment using ultrafiltration system. Samples of water were gathered from the reservoir of wastewater in the Gwagwalada abattoir, Abuja, Nigeria without treatment and labelled S1. Some of the water was subjected to treatment using Chlorine + Alum + Lime (S2), another with Chlorine + Alum + Lime + Activated carbon (S3). Physico-chemical parameters such as: pH, colour, nitrates etc. were analyzed. Trace metals (Zn, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, Co and Cd) levels in the water samples were investigated using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Concentration of pesticide residues (μg/L), antibiotics and bacterial growth were also evaluated. The S1, S2 and S3 nitrate concentrations were 271.20, 22.40 and 26.57 mg/L respectively. Level of Zinc, Copper and Lead in the trio samples investigated were within the range 0.14 to 0.24 mg/L, 0.15 to 0.24 mg/L and 0.06 to 0.17 mg/L respectively. Dichlorvos, Lambda-cyhalothrin and Chlorpyrifos were found in the 3 water samples in varying concentration. Only sample S1 shows microbial growth of Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., and Shigella spp. at 52.00 ± 8.49, 58.00±31.11, >100 and 10.50 ±0.71 CFU/100ml respectively. In S1, 0.05 μg/L of oxytetracycline and 0.34 μg/ of levofloxacin were found. This study has shown that treating wastewater from the abattoir using ultrafiltration method with some reagents such as Chlorine, Alum, Lime and Activated Carbon can help in removing toxicants and purify it before releasing it into the environment.