An integrated chemo- bio- mineral technology for agricultural drainage water remediation

ABSTRACT

During the last decades, technologies for agricultural drainage water remediation had been widely explored to oppose the arising intimidation of their pollutants on health, biotas and farming sustainability. The present study targeted to augment the remediation competence of inorganic pollutants and faecal coliforms from agricultural drainage water using different types of clay minerals. Kaolinite, Bentonite, Ball clay and Aswan clay were used either solely or in amalgamation with some biological premeditative amendments (cultures of Phosphate dissolving Bacteria (PDB) and/or Acidithiobacillus sp.] for drainage water remediation of samples delivered from Belbies and Rahawy agricultural drains. Nineteen trails and four groups were implemented for each drain together with a control sample. Water samples were analysed before and after clay minerals’ trails application for detection of Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II) and As(V) by Atomic Spectroscopy. Total faecal bacteria presence was also quantified through direct culturing on MacConkey agar plates. The obtained results confirmed a significant decrease in the concentrations of Cd, Cu, Ni, Zn and As pollutants as well as a decrease in the faecal coliform intensities under all trailed treatments compared to control samples. Worthy to mention that 4th group and especially T18 (Bentonite + Acidithiobacillus+ phosphate dissolving bacteria) was the most efficient in minimising the hazards of PTEs and the existence of faecal microbes.

KEYWORDS:

• Clay minerals
• agricultural drains
• chemical amendments
• acidithiobacillus
• phosphate dissolving bacteria
• water remediation

Acknowledgments

Thanks go to late Prof. Dr. Essam Hoballah at the National Research Center (Egypt) for his appreciated efforts in the current work.

Also, the authors would like to express their appreciation and gratitude to the Science, Technology & Innovation Funding authority (STDF) for financing the present work through the project number 41523 contracted with the National Research Center and extended till present.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

Soad El-Ashry and Hoda Kabary contributed to water sample collection from the selected sites and assessing PTE pollutants and writing manuscript.

Hoda Kabary and Alaa Zaghloul helped in preparing and remediation of the pollutants and revising the discussion of the obtained results and helped in writing the manuscript.

Mohamed Saber clarified the research objectives, manuscript writing and reviewing the whole manuscript after it was written by other participating authors.

All authors participated equally in the research experimental part, manuscript writing, and reading as well as approved the final manuscript format and conclusion.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Science, Technology & Annovation Funding Authority (STDF Egypt) [41523].