Abstract
Sustainable management of leachate produced from the dumpsite is one of the major concerns in developing countries Aquatic plants such as duckweed have the potential to remove pollutants from wastewater which can also be cost-effective and feasible options for leachate treatment. Therefore, the objective of our present study was to examine the growth and nutrient removal efficiency of duckweed (Lemna minor) on leachate. Three tests were performed each by growing lemna minor on synthetic leachate under controlled conditions and on dumpsite leachate under natural conditions. During each test, duckweed was grown in 300 ml plastic containers with a surface area of 25.8 cm2. About 60 mg of fresh mass of duckweed was grown on 250 ml leachate at an internal depth of 9.5 cm. Results revealed that, in comparison to synthetic leachate, duckweed removed Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), nitrogen (N), and phosphorous (P) more efficiently from dumpsite leachate under natural climatic conditions. However, the amounts of N and P absorbed into duckweed body mass were about 16% and 35% respectively more at synthetic leachate under controlled conditions. Maximum growth rate of duckweed (7.03 g m-2 day-1) was also observed for synthetic leachate in comparison to the growth rate of 4.87 g m-2 day-1 at dumpsite leachate. Results of this study provide a useful interpretation of duckweed growth and nutrient removal dynamics from leachate under natural and laboratory conditions.
Highlights
The absence of standard landfill sites in developing countries has given rise to the formation of open waste dumpsites which produce relatively large amounts of leachate [1]
This study provides the comparison of duckweed performance on synthetic and dumpsite leachate under controlled and natural climatic conditions respectively
In synthetic leachate a maximum growth rate of 7.03 ± 1.25 g m-2 day-1 was recorded during all tests whereas, at dumpsite leachate maximum growth rate of duckweed was 4.87 g m-2 day-1
Summary
The absence of standard landfill sites in developing countries has given rise to the formation of open waste dumpsites which produce relatively large amounts of leachate [1]. Leachate is a type of concentrated wastewater produced at open dumpsites by percolation of rainwater through solid waste layers [2]. Performance of duckweed on synthetic and dumpsite leachate large amounts of pollutants and nutrients such as organic matter, ammonia-nitrogen, heavy metals, and chlorinated organic and inorganic salts [3, 4]. Pollution caused by leachate is a potential threat to the environment and human health [5]. There are many studies on the effect of leachate pollution on human health, flora, fauna and ecosystems [7]
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