Food Wastewater Research Articles

Transformation of Enzymatic Hydrolysates of Chlorella–Fungus Mixed Biomass into Poly(hydroxyalkanoates)

The production of poly(hydroxylalkanoates) (PHA) is limited by the high cost of the feedstock since various biomass wastes look attractive as possible sources for polymer production. The originality of this present study is in the biotransformation of mixed Chlorella-based substrates into PHAs. The synthetic potential of Cupriavidus necator B8619 cells was studied during the bioconversion of algae biomass in mixtures with spent immobilized mycelium of different fungi (genus Rhizopus and Aspergillus) into PHAs. The biomass of both microalgae Chlorella and fungus cells was accumulated due to the use of the microorganisms in the processes of food wastewater treatment. The biosorption of Chlorella cells by fungal mycelium was carried out to obtain mixed biomass samples (the best ratio of “microalgae:fungi” was 2:1) to convert them by C. necator B8619 into the PHA. The influence of conditions used for the pretreatment of microalgae and mixed types of biomass on their conversion to PHA was estimated. It was found that the maximum yield of reducing sugars (39.4 ± 1.8 g/L) can be obtained from the mechanical destruction of cells by using further enzymatic hydrolysis. The effective use of the enzymatic complex was revealed for the hydrolytic disintegration of treated biomass. The rate of the conversion of mixed substrates into the biopolymer (440 ± 13 mg/L/h) appeared significantly higher compared to similar known examples of complex substrates used for C. necator cells.

Enhanced growth and lipid productivity by living Chlorella sorokiniana immobilized in Ca-alginate beads

The bottleneck for the production of biofuels from microalgae consists on costly harvesting processes and low lipid production, immobilization technology could play a part on making the production of biofuels more feasible. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of alginate immobilization on the growth and lipid productivity of the microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana, so far, the main focus of immobilization technology has been its use for wastewater treatment and nutrient removal from effluents. The microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana was cultured in both free and immobilized forms under optimal autotrophic growth conditions. Microalgae were immobilized in calcium alginate beads generated by mixing algal cells with a sodium alginate solution, followed by extrusion into a CaCl2 solution. The results obtained in this study showed that the growth of the microalgae immobilized in alginate beads, was enhanced and achieved a dry cell weight 1.4-fold higher than that of a free cell culture, a higher light transmittance was also achieved in the alginate immobilized culture, and the lipid productivity was increased from 54.21 ± 2.48 mg l−1 d in the free cell culture to 82.22 ± 8.48 mg l−1 d in the immobilized culture. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of immobilization technology for promoting growth and lipid productivity in the microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana.

Application of solar photovoltaic for the cultivation of Arthospira platensis (Spirulina)

Spirulina farming can be a solution to provide nutritious food for the increasing global population. Mixotrophic cultivation technique using wastewater nutrient to supply the energy for biomass growth beside the light energy is a promising technology to grow more Spirulina biomass. Electricity from solar energy can be utilized as a clean energy to power the aeration and illumination in Spirulina cultivation. A rooftop monocrystalline silicon (m-Si) solar panel with an area of 27 m2 was used to power Spirulina starter incubation (7 days) and mixotrophic or photoautotrophic cultivation at room temperature, various light intensity (1500–6000 lux), and fix aeration rate at 4 L/min for 5 days. MSI (Maris Sustainable IndonesiaTM, PT Maris Indonesia) medium supplemented with tempeh industry wastewater (1% v/v to MSI media) was used as organic carbon and growth nutrient source in mixotrophic cultivation. Mixotrophic culture grew faster than photoautotrophic culture (0.2615/day vs. 0.2107/day) due to its capability to harness catabolism activity for growing and multiplying. Growth inhibition by high photon density was implicitly observed in the slower or no increase of specific growth rate with the increasing light intensity in photoautotrophic culture. Application of solar panel lowered about 5.9% of carbon footprint in contrast to the fossil fuel sourced electricity. Net negative carbon footprint could be achieved through carbon fixation into Spirulina biomass.

Performance of Constructed Wetland on the Removal of Nutrient in Domestic Wastewater Using Chrysopogon Zizanioides

In this study, a native wild plant, Chrysopogon zizanioides (C-zi), was used in a wetland system to treat household wastewater. The root system of the C-zi is comprised of primary roots, secondary roots, and filamentous roots that all extend vertically deep into the soil rather than spreading horizontally. Depending on the concentration of the influent water, the water entering the vetiver-containing tank was stored for 3 to 5 days. These results demonstrated C-superior zi's ability to degrade organic waste as well as nutrients. COD, BOD, phosphorus, and ammonia are all removed with a high degree of effectiveness (82%, 82%, 80%, and 76%, respectively) in both stages of domestic wastewater treatment. The plant's roots had grown from 5 to 30 centimeters in length over the course of three months. In aspects of wastewater treatment and high biomass growth in wetland system, it was proposed that the use of C-zi is favorable.

Recent Trends on Domestic, Agricultural and Industrial Wastewaters Treatment Using Microalgae Biorefinery System

In addition to producing bioenergy and molecules with high added value, microalgae have been recognized as an efficient microorganism for wastewater treatment. However, a major obstacle preventing its widespread use is the high energy cost of pretreatment, cultivation and downstream processes. Different types of wastewaters have been tested as culture mediums for microalgal biorefinery system. This review gives a summary of the most used microalgae strains for wastewater treatment, as well as information on the physical and chemical characteristics of domestic, agricultural, and industrial wastewaters. It also discusses wastewater pretreatment techniques, nutrient uptake and removal, biomass production and biomolecules productivities. There is also discussion on how microalgae remove contaminants from wastewater. Additionally, the problems and restrictions of microalgae-based wastewater treatment are explored, and recommendations are made for additional study and advancement. This literature review demonstrates that microalgae monoculture systems have proven to be beneficial as an innovative wastewater treatment technology, due to its high efficiencies in pollutant removals and biomolecule production; however, the upstream and downstream treatment pose a limit to industrialize the process. Until now, there has been no conventional design of the wastewater treatment process using microalgae in the biorefinery system, which constitutes a huge gap to assess a real life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno economic analysis (TEA).

Sıfır atığa doğru: Su ürünleri yetiştiriciliğinde sürdürülebilir atık yönetimi

Increases in aquaculture production due to higher demand for aquatic foods result in an increase in the amount of aquaculture wastewater. This situation highlights the need for the effective treatment of wastewater in sustainable aquaculture. Today, instead of traditional physical and chemical methods in the treatment of wastewater originating from aquaculture, ecosystem-sensitive and by-product-oriented systems have begun to be adopted. The main principle of the zero-waste approach is the recycling of the nutrients in the wastewater to produce another food. In this new innovative approach, the production of other organisms from the different trophic levels using the wastewater of aquaculture in the integrated multi-trophic systems (such as aquaponics) is possible to recycle the nutrients. It has been considered the integrated multi-trophic systems (IMTA) more valuable as these systems can be used both in environment-friendly wastewater treatment and in the conversion of nutrients in wastewater to biomass. The nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in aquaculture wastewater can be utilized to produce two organisms (i.e. fish+mussel) or three organisms (i.e. fish+mussel+seaweed) through IMTA. Aquaculture wastewater can be used to reduce the nutrients in constructed wetlands and plant lagoons representing the reasonable approach for sustainable aquaculture and wastewater treatment. Here, the innovative approach to sustainable aquaculture wastewater treatment was reviewed for the current and innovative technologies. It was emphasized that the need for environment-friendly wastewater treatment Technologies such as aquaponics, enlargement of constructed wetlands, or increase in using the integrated multi-trophic production systems (IMTA) in practice are recommended for sustainable aquaculture.

Pressure-driven membrane nutrient preconcentration for down-stream electrochemical struvite recovery

Nutrient recovery from wastewater is a sustainable solution to combat the harmful release of nutrients to the environment. Here, we investigate nutrient recovery from wastewater by pre-concentration of wastewater nutrients using pressure-driven membranes prior to downstream electrochemical nutrient precipitation. When using electrochemical struvite precipitation, a higher nutrient concentration leads to a higher precipitation efficiency. Therefore, we investigate the performance of commercial nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes with different polymer chemistry and molecular weight cut-offs (MWCO) and discuss the membrane selection based on design goals and wastewater compositions for maximum nutrient recovery efficiency. Our results indicated that the Alfa membrane, a polyamide thin film composite (PA-TFC) NF membrane with 300 Da MWCO has the highest concentration factor in phosphorus (P) preconcentration among all the membranes studied due to the high flux and removal efficiency. BW30LE (PA-TFC, 100 Da), Synder (PA-TFC, 100–250 Da) and NF90 (PA-TFC, 200–400 Da) achieved a high concentration factor for nitrogen (N) recovery. NF90 and Synder NF membranes are able to achieve a nitrogen concentration factor similar to BW30LE RO membrane at much lower energy consumption. A multistage membrane system design is suggested using the selected membranes for effective nutrient recovery. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to characterize the environmental impact of the multistage membrane nutrient recovery system. Among the different process configurations of the selected membranes, key trends included: 1) environmental impacts across most categories increased as the number of membranes increased, and 2) as the amount of fertilizer substitute that could be produced in a given configuration increased, total environmental impacts decreased with some exceptions.

Magnetic Fe3O4 embedded chitosan–crosslinked-polyacrylamide composites with enhanced removal of food dye: Characterization, adsorption and mechanism

The water solubility in acid solution, relative low adsorption capacities and unsatisfactory separation performance limit application of traditional chitosan-based adsorbents in wastewater treatment. To break the limitation, a hydrophilic magnetic Fe3O4 embedded chitosan–crosslinked-polyacrylamide composites (abbreviated as m–CS–c–PAM) were prepared by a two–step method. The m–CS–c–PAM composites were systematically characterized using SEM, XRD, FTIR, VSM, TGA and BET. Sunset yellow (SY) was selected as model food dye to investigate adsorption kinetics and thermodynamic parameters of food dye adsorption onto m–CS–c–PAM. Compared with magnetic Fe3O4/chitosan, m–CS–c–PAM can adapt to a wider range of pH (2–10) and resist the presence of inorganic salts. m–CS–c–PAM was proved to have high adsorption capacity (359.71 mg g−1) for SY dye at 298 K, much higher than magnetic Fe3O4/chitosan and many reported adsorbents. Moreover, m–CS–c–PAM could be rapidly and efficiently separated from treated solution within 15 s by an external magnet and regenerated by NaOH solution. With its excellent adsorption capacity, pH–independent adsorption capability for food dye, easy and convenient separation ability, satisfactory reusability, m–CS–c–PAM can be a promising material for food wastewater treatment.

Treatment of High Nutrient-Loaded Wastewater in a Constructed Floating Wetland with Different Configurations: Role of Lantana Biochar Addition

Constructed wetlands (CW) with carbon stock in substrate matrix show high efficiency in wastewater nutrient removals. In this study, five batch-scale CW setups with varying Lantana weed biochar (BC) doses (5, 10, and 15%) in substrate matrix were established and changes in high nutrient-loaded wastewater parameters, ammonium N (NH4+-N), chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrate (NO3-N), sulfate (SO4−2), and phosphate (PO4−3), were monitored for 240 h hydraulic retention time (HRT). BC amount directly affected the removal mechanism of CWs and a significant reduction in COD (>92.71%) was recorded. CW setup with a 15% BC dose showed the maximum removal of PO4−3 (79.06%), NH4+-N (78.79%), SO4−2 (67.93%), and NO3-N (77.42%) from wastewater. The theory of BC facilitated physical removal, microbial facilitation, and chemical kinetics improvements are proposed for better removal of wastewater nutrients in studied CWs. Research results could be utilized to design a low-cost domestic wastewater treatment facility using BC for rural areas under a decentralized water treatment program.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate production by Halomonas sp. YLGW01 using volatile fatty acids: a statistical approach to apply for food-waste water

Polyhydroxyalkanoate production by Halomonas sp. YLGW01 using volatile fatty acids: a statistical approach to apply for food-waste water

Estimating environmental and societal impacts from scaling up urine concentration technologies

There is a growing trend for nutrient recovery from wastewater as part of the transition to a circular economy. Most nutrients in household wastewater originate from urine and one way to facilitate reuse of these nutrients is to concentrate the urine into fertiliser products. Urine concentration technologies are still in the development phase and not implemented at scale. The aim of this study was to provide guidance to technology developers and policymakers by assessing the environmental and societal impacts of urine concentration technologies. In particular, it includes practical aspects such as worker safety, space availability and local fertiliser needs that have not been included in previous studies. Future scenarios on implementing three different urine concentration technologies (alkaline dehydration, nitrification-distillation, ion-exchange with struvite precipitation) in a planned residential area in Malmö, Sweden, were developed. The technologies were evaluated using multi-criteria assessment (MCA), with environment, technical, economic and health sustainability criteria derived from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was found that all urine concentration technologies performed well against many of the sustainability criteria examined and can contribute to achieving SDGs, especially regarding nitrogen recovery. Specific areas for further development were identified for each technology. An impact assessment on scaling up demonstrated that nitrogen emissions to surface water were significantly reduced when more than 60% of urine in Malmö city was subjected to urine concentration. Nitrogen and phosphorus recovered from recycling only 15–30% of urine in Malmö could supply 50% of Malmö municipality's fertiliser demand.

Glycerol conversion by aerobic granular sludge

Glycerol is abundantly present in wastewater from industries such as biodiesel production facilities. Glycerol is also a potential carbon source for microbes that are involved in wastewater nutrient removal processes. The conversion of glycerol in biological phosphorus removal of aerobic granular sludge processes has not been explored to date. The current study describes glycerol utilization by aerobic granular sludge and enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). Robust granules with good phosphorus removal capabilities were formed in an aerobic granular sludge sequencing batch reactor fed with glycerol. The interaction between the fermentative conversion of glycerol and product uptake by polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAO) was studied using stoichiometric and microbial community analysis. Metagenomic, metaproteomic and microscopic analysis identified a community dominated by Actinobacteria (Tessaracoccus and Micropruina) and a typical PAO known as Ca. Accumulibacter. Glycerol uptake facilitator (glpF) and glycerol kinase (glpK), two proteins involved in the transport of glycerol into the cellular metabolism, were only observed in the genome of the Actinobacteria. The anaerobic conversion appeared to be a combination of a substrate fermentation and product uptake-type reaction. Initially, glycerol fermentation led mainly to the production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) which was not taken up under anaerobic conditions. Despite the aerobic conversion of 1,3-PDO stable granulation was observed. Over time, 1,3-PDO production decreased and complete anaerobic COD uptake was observed. The results demonstrate that glycerol-containing wastewater can effectively be treated by the aerobic granular sludge process and that fermentative and polyphosphate accumulating organisms can form a food chain in glycerol-based EBPR processes.

Potential use of entomopathogenic and mycoparasitic fungi against powdery mildew in aquaponics

Aquaponics has the potential to produce sustainable and accessible quality food through the integration of hydroponics and aquaculture. Plants take up dissolved nutrients in fish wastewater, allowing water reuse for fish. However, the simultaneous presence of fish and plants in the same water loop has made phytosanitary treatments of diseases such as powdery mildew problematic due to risks of toxicity for fish and beneficial bacteria, limiting its commercialization. Entomopathogenic and mycoparasitic fungi have been identified as safe biological control agents for a broad range of pests. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of entomopathogenic fungi, Lecanicillium attenuatum (LLA), Isaria fumosorosea (IFR), and mycoparasitic fungus Trichoderma virens (TVI) against Podosphaera xanthii. Also, we investigated the possible harmful effects of the three fungal biocontrol agents in aquaponics by inoculating them in aquaponics water and monitoring their survival and growth. The findings showed that the three biocontrol agents significantly suppressed the powdery mildew at 107 CFU/ml concentration. Under greenhouse conditions (65-73% relative humidity (RH)), a significant disease reduction percentage of 85% was recorded in L. attenuatum-pretreated leaves. IFR-treated leaves had the least AUDPC (area under disease progress curve) of ~434.2 and disease severity of 32% under 65-73% RH. In addition, L. attenuatum spores were the most persistent on the leaves, the spores population increased to 9.54 × 103 CFUmm-2 from the initial 7.3 CFUmm-2 under 65-73%. In contrast, in hydroponics water, the LLA, IFR, and TVI spores significantly reduced by more than 99% after 96 hrs. Initial spore concentrations of LLA of 107 CFU/ml spores were reduced to 4 x 103 CFU after 96 hrs. Though the results from this study were intended for aquaponics systems, relevance of the results to other cultivation systems are discussed.

Microalgae-Enabled Wastewater Remediation and Nutrient Recovery through Membrane Photobioreactors: Recent Achievements and Future Perspective.

The use of microalgae for wastewater remediation and nutrient recovery answers the call for a circular bioeconomy, which involves waste resource utilization and ecosystem protection. The integration of microalgae cultivation and wastewater treatment has been proposed as a promising strategy to tackle the issues of water and energy source depletions. Specifically, microalgae-enabled wastewater treatment offers an opportunity to simultaneously implement wastewater remediation and valuable biomass production. As a versatile technology, membrane-based processes have been increasingly explored for the integration of microalgae-based wastewater remediation. This review provides a literature survey and discussion of recent progressions and achievements made in the development of membrane photobioreactors (MPBRs) for wastewater treatment and nutrient recovery. The opportunities of using microalgae-based wastewater treatment as an interesting option to manage effluents that contain high levels of nutrients are explored. The innovations made in the design of membrane photobioreactors and their performances are evaluated. The achievements pave a way for the effective and practical implementation of membrane technology in large-scale microalgae-enabled wastewater remediation and nutrient recovery processes.

Simultaneous Promotion of Microalgal CO2 Assimilation, Biomass Accumulation, Lipid Production, and Wastewater Nutrient Removal by Adding 5-Aminolevulinic Acid

Microalgae-based wastewater management has the potential to serve dual purposes, including biofuel production and wastewater bioremediation. The current study investigates the role of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) in the regulation of photosynthesis, biomass accumulation, lipid production, and nutrient removal from wastewater by Chlorella pyrenoidosa. In wastewaters, a 3 μM concentration of 5-ALA was considered optimal, as it increased the photosynthetic light reaction and CO2 assimilation of C. pyrenoidosa cells, thereby facilitating cellular growth, metabolism, and biomass accumulation. The acceleration of algal cellular metabolism increased the substrate pool and enhanced the expression of lipogenic genes, thereby promoting lipid production. Meanwhile, the removal of nutrients from wastewater was accelerated after the addition of 5-ALA. The accelerated nutrient removal from wastewaters following 5-ALA treatment was related to C. pyrenoidosa cell growth. C. pyrenoidosa is capable of utilizing nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater and accumulating biomass. The biomass from microalgae can be used as a feedstock to produce biofuels. Therefore, the current study provided a novel strategy for simultaneously promoting CO2 assimilation, biomass accumulation, lipid production, and wastewater nutrient removal with microalgae. It is possible to use microalgae for the management of wastewater if research and development on commercializing technologies based on microalgae, both upstream and downstream, are carried out continuously.

Impacts of lipids on the performance of anaerobic membrane bioreactors for food wastewater treatment

This study investigated the resistance of anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) to lipid gradients during food wastewater treatment. Sodium oleate (oleate-Na) was added to synthetic food wastewater to simulate lipids. Results show that AnMBR could adapt to a certain content of lipids by stimulate biomass growth and activity. As the dosage of oleate-Na increased from 0 to 2 g/L, the removal of total organic carbon (TOC) decreased for several days and then recovered back to above 90%. Such a decrease and increase profile was also observed for biogas production and methane yield, which stabilized at 0.61 and 0.41 L/gCOD, respectively, after oleate-Na addition was maintained at 2 g/L for 13 days. Nevertheless, further addition of 4 g/L oleate-Na led to system failure with a reduction of TOC removal and biogas production from 92% to 62% and from 0.61 L/gCOD to 0.083 L/gCOD, respectively, given a significant accumulation of volatile fatty acids to 2940 mg/L. Further microbial analysis showed that the genus Methanosaeta enriched to 50% with 2 g/L oleate-Na addition and thus contributed to the recovery of methane production. By contrast, adding 4 g/L oleate-Na inhibited the proliferation of the genus Methanosarcina to reduce organic biodegradation and then methane production.

A preliminary study on the feasibility of industrialization for n-caproic acid recovery from food wastewater: From lab to pilot

Food wastewater is associated with greenhouse gas emission and has a significant water footprint. Here, the platform chemical n-caproate was recovered from liquor brewing wastewater at maximum and mean concentrations of 26.4 g/L and 17.0 ± 4.3 g/L, respectively, after 377 d operation. Laboratory-scale lactate-driven chain elongation (CE) process was implemented first. Taxonomic composition and metagenomic data analyses revealed that Caproiciproducens (e.g., Ruminococcaceae bacterium CPB6) and bacteria affiliated with Lachnospiraceae transformed lactate to n-caproate by reverse β-oxidation and/or fatty acid biosynthesis. The lactate-driven CE process was then scaled up from 2.5 L to 500 L and achieved a n-caproate production of 14.5 ± 0.6 g/L within 96 h. n-Caproic acid was extracted at a concentration and purity of 815.9 ± 8.3 g/L and 88.6 ± 8.9 %, respectively. The present study demonstrated a commercially viable strategy for resource recovery and carbon fixation from food waste streams.

Fluid-like electrodes and Purple Phototrophic Bacteria: bridging the gap in wastewater biorefineries

Wastewater biorefineries aim to generate value-added products in an economically viable process while removing pollutants. In this scenario, Purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB), the most versatile microorganisms on earth, are highly effective for sustainable wastewater treatment and nutrient recovery as cell protein. One of the most innovative approaches for applying PPB in the wastewater sector is their capacity for interchanging electrons with electroconductive materials. In contrast with classical biofilm-based techniques, we have demonstrated that a fluid-like electrode can accept electrons from planktonically grown PPB. We anticipate that such findings will impact in wastewater electrobioremediating capacity of PPB. Moreover, controlling the electrochemical nature of the extracellular electron acceptor (fluid-like electrode) allows for fine-tuning the metabolism of a planktonic PPB-dominated community to enhance their biodegradation rate (2-fold) while growing on brewery wastewater. For this purpose, a twin set of microbial electrochemical fluidized bed reactors (ME-FBR) were operated in identical conditions, except for illumination conditions (dark vs. infrared), to promote the development of PPB. Illumina sequencing revealed that both infrared radiation and polarization led to changes in the microbial population while producing an electrical current of 7 A·m-3. Indeed, the Geobacter genus was the electroactive bacteria outcompeting under dark conditions. In contrast, electroactive PPB genera like the Rhodopseudomonas and Rhodobacter outcompeted others under infrared illumination and electrostimulation. In this work, we have demonstrated how microbial selection can contribute to the sustainability of an electrobioremediation wastewater treatment by avoiding emissions of greenhouse gases such as methane. In addition, fluid-like bed bioreactors have shown their usefulness in recovering nutrients as PPB biomass, favoring planktonic growth and thus facilitating the recovery of a valuable product: the biomass of PPB.

Nutrient and organic pollutants removal in synthetic wastewater by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Chryseobacterium sp./biofilter systems.

Nutrient and organic pollution raise serious problems for aquatic ecosystems through the accumulation of organic carbon, the reduction of light penetration, and the loss of submerged aquatic vegetation. The over-enrichment of water with nitrogen and phosphorus leads to an imbalance in nutrient ratios, creating favorable conditions for toxic algal blooms, formation of oxygen-depleted water, etc. Thus, developing new technological solutions to reduce their amount is imperative. The present study investigates the capacity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Chryseobacterium sp. bacterial strains to form biofilm on solid support (biofilter), both individually and in tandem, using various analytical techniques. Also, the biofilm/biofilter systems' efficiency in removing nutrients such as nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, and phosphate ions from municipal wastewaters is assessed. The results showed a reduction of nutrient pollution of up to 91%, 98%, 55%, and 71% for nitrite, nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate ions. A reduction of about 78% of COD was also observed. The results were obtained in the absence of an additional aeration process, thus having a great potential for reducing total costs of wastewater treatment and developing ecological systems for wastewater management.

Plant biomass as potential economic commodities for agricultural purposes.

The world’s population is growing continually and is projected to reach nine billion by the year 2050. This growth rate requires increased and economically viable food production and an adequate supply of quality water to sustain life. Increased food production and supply of water require adding fertilizers and possible recycling of wastewater, to address the improvement of soils’ nutritional status and potable water shortages, respectively. The objectives of this work were to determine the nutrients in sewage-impacted wastewater, borehole water, agricultural waste, and commercial fertilizer (control) materials, and their heavy metal content was also carried out to determine their suitability for use. In addition, Moringa seed pods and Morula nutshells were investigated as a bioremedial approach for the removal of toxic metals from aqueous samples. An attempt to regenerate sorbent was made since the saturated sorbents that contain the metal ions are not safe for disposal as they can pollute the environment. Nutrients were analyzed by HPLC, while metals were analyzed using a Varian 220FS Atomic Absorption Spectrometer operated with air/acetylene. Nonedible agricultural materials were found to contain appreciable amounts of plant nutrients such as nitrates (NO3 -), nitrites (NO2 -), and phosphates (PO4 3-) as well as metal ions such as magnesium, copper, and zinc, which are beneficial for plant growth. Results obtained from analysis of sewage water effluent showed that heavy metal and nutrient concentrations decreased in the treatment stage. The utilization of Moringa oleifera seed pods for metal removal from wastewater is viable and would reduce costs for waste disposal and can offer alternatives to conventional methods for the removal of unwanted or toxic species from the environment. It showed potential for removing selected metal ions such as Pb, Cd, Cu, Fe, and Zn from polluted water. This organically treated wastewater is environmentally friendly and may be used for applications which do not require potable water, such as irrigating golf courses, lawns, and crops, or for industrial purposes, if proper measures are taken to ensure its quality.