A Study on Potentiality of Vetiveria zizanoides, Boerhavia diffusa and Allium Cernuum Plants in the Removal of Nitrate and Phosphate from Kitchen Wastewater
Phytoremediation is one of the best methods that can be adopted to treat wastewater in an eco- friendly way. Vetiveria zizanoides, Boerhavia diffusa and Allium Cernuum are the three plants chosen for the study. The former two are proven to be effective in pollutants' removal from wastewater and the latter is a new adoption. Geomembrane is an innovative inclusion to prevent the seepage of contaminants to groundwater. Wastewater analysis, measuring the heights and weights of the plants and, EDS testing were the tests conducted. Considerably favourable results were achieved for an untreated sample of kitchen wastewater. Keywords— Wastewater, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, COD, BOD, Vetiveria zizanoides, Boerhavia diffusa, Allium Cernuum, Geomembrane, I. INTRODUCTION Out of the available water resources 97% of water is present in oceans, 2% polar ice caps and fresh water lakes constitute 1% of the water. India is likely to be water scarce by 2050. It is therefore important to increase the efficiency of water use, explore options to augment water supply in critical areas, and ensure more effective management of water resources. Among the Eight missions stated in the National Action Plan for Climatic Changes (NAPCC, INDIA), National Water Mission (NWM) lays stress on sustainable use and reuse of water and wastewaters. The aim of this project is to use phytoremediation for removal of nitrate and phosphate present in kitchen wastewater by an artificial wetland system. There are many aquatic and terrestrial plant species which are disease and drought resistant, heat, cold, salt, chemical, insect and stress tolerant. Other selection criteria are growth rate and removal efficiencies. Some plant species used in wastewater treatment are Eichhornia cressipes, Azolla spp, Vetiveria zizanioides, Boerhavia diffusa, Allium cernuum, Ceratophyllum demersum, Chara spp, Hygrophila polysperma, Ipomoea aquatica, Pistia stratiotes, Typha latifolia, Brassica juncea, Helianthus annuus and Medicago sativa. They are basically responsible for removal of nutrients such as Nitrate nitrogen, Phosphate, BOD and COD. The methodology adopted will help in the identification of pollutants in kitchen wastewater which will undergo the process of phytoremediation. The artificial wetland is comprised of groundmasses like brick stone and gravel, charcoal as well as plant species attached to it. The wastewater flows into the wetland horizontally, and decomposes nutritive materials such as nitrate nitrogen, phosphate, BOD, COD, etc in wastewater through a series of processes as attachment to groundmass, absorption by plants, charcoal adsorbtion and microbial conversion, which belongs to distinctive soil-plant- microbe system that is differentiated from the wetland.