Phycoremediation is the use of algae for the removal or biotransformation of pollutants from wastewater. Employing this technology in the treatment of industrial effluents presents an alternative to the current practice of using conventional methods, including physical and chemical methods. In the present study, the effluent from a leather-processing chemical manufacturing facility, situated at Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, India, was treated using the microalga, Chlorella vulgaris, which was isolated from the effluent itself. The objective of this study was to treat the effluent as well as ETP (effluent treatment plant) solid waste by phycoremediation (pilot-scale field study as well as laboratory study) and to analyse the physico-chemical parameters before and after treatment. The results obtained showed that Chlorella vulgaris exhibited appreciable nutrient scavenging properties under both laboratory and field conditions, although phycoremediation carried out in sunlight (field study) gave better results. Moreover, the growth of Chlorella vulgaris was faster under field conditions.
Using algae to treat industrial effluents containing heavy metals presents an alternative to the current practice of using other biosorbents and physical and chemical methods. In this study, effluent from a leather-processing chemical industry in Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, India, was treated for the removal of heavy metals using the microalga, Chlorella vulgaris, which was isolated from the effluent itself. The objectives of this study were to (1) assess the mass balance of a model parameter, lead, in laboratory conditions and estimate the lead adsorption capabilities of the microalga and (2) conduct pilot-scale studies for the removal of heavy metals, using the microalga, from the effluent and the solid waste accumulated over the years generated by conventional treatment methods. The results of the study show that after 8 hours, Chlorella vulgaris exhibited a better adsorption capacity under sunlight compared to laboratory conditions (i.e., 30.6 mg/g dry weight vs 10.5 mg/g dry weight, respectively). Similarly, reduction of heavy metals and mass balance in pilot-scale field studies conducted in a high-rate algal pond showed that the microalga, apart from adsorption, complexation, and entrapment mechanisms, is likely to possess phycovolatilization capability probably via biotransformation processes. Water Environ. Res., 83, 291 (2011).
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