Essay On Wastewater

Pollution of mine water has become one of the most important environmental problems. It is a well-known fact that polluted water can reduce water quality thus restricting use of water bodies for many purposes. Many wastewater treatment processes generate large amounts of sludge that must be sent off-site for disposal. Handling and disposal of this sludge is typically the largest single cost component in the operation of a wastewater treatment plant. High energy requirements will make many wastewater treatment methods unsuitable for low per-capita energy consumption countries. Today algae became important bioremediation agents, and are already being used by many wastewater treatment facilities. The potential of algae in wastewater remediation

Similarly many blue-green algae occur in nutrient-poor waters, while some grow well in organically polluted waste waters (Braarud, 1945). Chlamydomonas Euglena, diatoms, Navicula, Synedra and blue- green algae, like Oscillatoria and Phormidium are able to sustain in rich organic pollution which are abundant in mine waste water (Palmer, 1969). A study showed that algae may be used fruitfully for wastewater treatment as a result of their bioaccumulation abilities (Oswald, 1988). Furthermore, several studies revealed that algae are capable in removing of nutrients especially nitrogen and phosphorus, heavy metals, pesticides, organic and inorganic toxins, pathogens from surrounding waste water by accumulating them in their cells (Reddy, 1983; Craggs, et al., 1996; Rose, et al, 1998; Guha, et al., 2001; Kaewsarn and Yu, 2001; Tam, et al., 2001; Weber, et al., 1981; Shashirekha, et al., 1997; Lloyd & Frederick, 2000).However algae cultures offer an effective solution to waste water treatments due to ability to use inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus for their growth and also, remove some toxic organic compounds present in the