Tannery Effluent Treatment by Yeast Species Isolates from Watermelon.

Stanley Okoduwa,Chinyere Udeh,Balli Gauje,Chidi Edenta,Bernard Igiri

doi:10.3390/toxics5010006

Abstract

The quest for an effective alternative means for effluent treatment is a major concern of the modern-day scientist. Fungi have been attracting a growing interest for the biological treatment of industrial wastewater. In this study, Saccharomycescerevisiae and Torulasporadelbrueckii were isolated from spoiled watermelon and inoculated into different concentrations of effluent. The inoculants were incubated for 21-days to monitor the performance of the isolates by measurement of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrates, conductivity, phosphates, sulphates and turbidity. The results showed that Saccharomycescerevisiae had the highest percentage decrease of 98.1%, 83.0%, 60.7%, 60.5%, and 54.2% for turbidity, sulphates, BOD, phosphates and COD, respectively, of the tannery effluent. Torulasporadelbrueckii showed the highest percentage decrease of 92.9%, 90.6%, and 61.9% for sulphates, COD, and phosphates, respectively, while the syndicate showed the highest percentage reduction of 87.4% and 70.2% for nitrate and total dissolve solid (TDS), respectively. The least percentage decrease was displayed by syndicate organisms at 51.2%, 48.1% and 40.3% for BOD, COD and conductivity, respectively. The study revealed that Saccharomycescerevisiae and Torulasporadelbrueckii could be used in the biological treatment of tannery-effluent. Hence, it was concluded that the use of these organisms could contribute to minimizing the adverse environmental risks and health-hazards associated with the disposal of untreated tannery-effluents.

Highlights

In developing countries such as Nigeria, the vast majority of industries dispose their effluents without treatment
At day 14, some physicochemical properties such as the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and conductivity increased in Saccharomyces cerevisiae–treated effluent (Table 1)
In Torulaspora delbrueckii– and syndicate-treated effluent, there was a continuous reduction of the various parameters measured at day 14 and 21, except for conductivity and sulphates which increased at day 14 in Torulaspora delbrueckii, with continuous reduction in syndicate organisms

Summary

Introduction

In developing countries such as Nigeria, the vast majority of industries dispose their effluents without treatment. The discharge of tannery effluent, municipal sewage, farm and urban wastes carried by drains to rivers worsens and broadens water pollution [1]. These effluents have dangerous consequences on the quality of water and the environment, as well as multifaceted effects on flowing water [2]. The tannery industry generates massive amounts of effluents during its regular operation. These effluents contain tannins, significant concentrations of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), and inorganic compounds such as sulphates, chlorides and some toxic heavy metals which are difficult to treat and are released untreated or partially treated into the environment [3,4,5].

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion