Abstract
Swine wastewaters (SW) present organic load and nutrient content, what have caused degradation of water quality in many watercourses. Thus, the aquatic macrophytes represent an alternative for the depollution of these wastewaters, due to the high recovery power. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms, Pistia stratiotes L. and Salvinia auriculata Aubl. in improving the physicochemical targets of SW, as well as to quantify the total ammoniacal nitrogen (NH4+) and total phosphorus (total P) in the plant tissue of the macrophytes and the dry matter biomass (DMB) in two seasons of the year (spring and winter). The experiment was designed in a randomized block design, with 4 treatments (T) with 4 replicates: T1 = Control (without plants); T2 = E. crassipes; T3 = P. stratiotes; and T4 = S. auriculata, submitted to a SW diluted in 50% water. The monitoring is done in tanks during a period of 30 days of each season. Electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), turbidity, NH4+ and dissolved phosphorus (P) were analyzed in the SW. In the plants, the contents of NH4+, total P and DMB were determined. It was verified that, in the spring, the plants showed higher production of DMB and a more significant reduction of EC, NH4+ and P, when compared to the plants managed in the SW in the winter. E. crassipes was more efficient at removing P (39%) and total NH4+ (80.2%), and EC reducing (92%) of SW and DMB production in the spring. The results demonstrated that the NH4+ uptake by E. crassipes contributed to a considerable removal of NH4+ and P from SW.
Highlights
Pig farming represents an activity of great importance to economy, since the pork is classified as the most consumed source of animal protein in the world (ABCS, 2016)
The Electrical conductivity (EC) is considered an important indicator of the concentration of dissolved ions in the water, which are represented by electrically charged particles, as reported by Chamun (2008)
In the raw wastewater coming from the pig farms of Campus II/UNOESTE under study, the EC was elevated, which, according to CETESB (2009), may be considered an impacted environment, since it presented EC levels above 100 μs cm-1
Summary
Pig farming represents an activity of great importance to economy, since the pork is classified as the most consumed source of animal protein in the world (ABCS, 2016). Pig farming is considered an activity that has environmental impacts, mainly regarding the wastewater generation with high concentration of suspended solids, organic matter, nutrients and pathogens (Rodrigues et al, 2010; Song et al, 2010). It happens due to the efficiency of these plants in reducing the concentration of organic pollutants through microbiological and biochemical processes, which promote organic matter decomposition, nutrient mineralization and removal of pathogens. They mediate the physicochemical processes, as filtration, adsorption and sedimentation (Białowiec et al, 2011; Shelef et al, 2013)
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