Phycoremediation of Heavy Metal Removal from Pharmaceutical Industrial Effluents, Kandigai, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Water pollution occurs due to excessive releases of toxic heavy metals in urban wastewater is increasing the
threat to aquatic ecosystems. Treatment of waste water with the algae is termed as Phycoremediation which is
a unique, cheap, method to treat the polluted water by a method of natural selection. Therefore, in the present
study effluents with an algal species were taken for Phycoremediation using five different concentrations
were used for treating pharmaceutical industrial effluents. Our research focused on microalgae Chlorella
sp. and Scenedesmus sp. were used to treat the effluent at different concentrations depending upon the
tolerance in severe conditions. In addition to this treatment algal consortium was also treated in the same
way. These two algal species were taken based on its predominant growth in the effluents collected. The
physico-chemical parameters of all treated effluents were recorded in different time intervals, from 1st week
to 3rd week respectively. Chlorella and Scenedesmus sp. reduces drastically heavy metals like sulfate, lead,
nickel, copper and zinc. According to the present investigation, the highest Phycoremediation was achieved
in sulfate, zinc and copper. The results revealed that the above mentioned both algal species were also highly
efficient in reducing BOD, COD, TSS and TDS. In addition to this the biochemical and bio pigment analyses
were done for these two micro algal species. Therefore, this preliminary study indicates that the use of two
microalgal sp. could be used as they are eco-friendly adsorbents in treatment of polluted wastewater.