Phytoremediation of wastewater toxicity using water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes)

ABSTRACT

This paper elucidates the phytoremediation potential of water hyacinth and water lettuce on the reduction of wastewater toxicity. Acute toxicity tests were performed in an aquarium with a population of Sarotherodon melanotheron, contaminated by different concentrations of wastewaters before and after phytoremediation with Eichhornia crassipes and Pistia stratiotes. Lethal concentrations (LC₅₀) of the fish's population obtained during 24 hours of exposures were determined. COD, BOD, ammonium, TKN and PO₄³⁻ concentrations in wastewaters were of 1850.29, 973.33, 38.34, 61.49 and 39.23 mg L⁻¹, respectively, for each plant. Phytoremediation reduced 58.87% of ammonium content, 50.04% of PO₄³⁻, 82.45% of COD and 84.91% of BOD. After 15 days of the experiment, metal contents in treated wastewaters decreased from 6.65 to 97.56% for water hyacinth and 3.51 to 93.51% for water lettuce tanks. Toxicity tests showed that the mortality of fish exposed increased with increase in concentration of pollutants in wastewaters and the time of exposure. Therefore, the highest value of LC₅₀ was recorded for fish subjected to 3 hours of exposure (16.37%). The lowest rate was obtained after an exposure of 20 to 24 hours (5.85%). After phytoremediation, the effluents purified by Eichhornia crassipes can maintain the fish life beyond 24 hours of exposure.

KEYWORDS:

• Aquatic macrophytes
• fish mortality
• wastewater toxicity
• phytoremediation

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the staff of experimental station of aquiculture of Oceanological Research Center for the technical assistance pertaining to wastewater phytoremediation and toxicity tests.