Efficiency of Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) in Reduction of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) from Textile Industry Effluent

Abstract

Textile industry effluent contains a variety of organic and inorganic pollutants.  The effluent usually contains a high concentration of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) along with other pollutants .The available chemical methods for treatment are found to be inefficient besides being extremely costly.  Phytoremediation is a well-established technique using plants for the removal of pollutants and contaminants from water and soil. It is an economically feasible and sustainable method of remediation of our environment. Several aquatic macrophytes have been found to effectively minimize the pollutant concentration in waste water. The present study was conducted to test the feasibility of water hyacinth for treating textile wastewater in reducing the concentration of COD. The result has revealed that the amount of COD was reduced from 1530 mg/L to 385mg/L in raw effluent; in 50% concentration of the effluent it was reduced from 952 mg/L to 265 mg/L and in 25% concentration of the effluent it was reduced from 625 mg/L to 195 mg/L.