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Year: 2015, Issue: December
Reclamation of effluent of a sugar industry by blue-green alga and by a photobioreactor - an experimental study.
Author:
Rajalakshmi Jena, Jhilli Prabha Prusti and A. K. Panigrahi
Keyword:
Westiellopsis prolifica, Anabaena cylindrica, Blue green alga, Photobioreactor.
The effluent of the sugar industry was collected from the dumping site and brought to the laboratory and kept for study. Graded series of concentrations of the effluent was prepared. Out of the two blue-green algae tested Westiellopsis prolifica was found to be the best for utilization of the alga as a detoxifier when compared to Anabaena cylindrica. The effluent of the sugar mill at 3.0% dilution level is safe and did not show any toxic effect rather showed better growth by Anabaena. Westiellopsis showed higher tolerance and could resist higher concentrations of the sugar effluent. Westiellopsis and Anabaena both could change the brown colour of the effluent to a higher degree when compared to other BGA. This alga could change the colour of the effluent within 30th days time as evinced from optical density studies. The two tested alga can be used to change the brown colour of the effluent to colourless. The data related to pigments indicated that the algae can be grown in diluted effluent where the growth and increase in pigments was significant when compared to control. The pigment analysis indicated that W.prolifica is a better choice over A.cylindrica. The effluent of the sugar industry can be diluted to 3.0% with water and can be used in the crop fields and green gram can be cultivated instead of rice along with Westiellopsis and Anabaena. The effluent of the sugar industry should properly be treated by specific biological agents like nitrogen fixing BGA or by a bioreactor in presence of BGA or by chemical or physical means, to change the colour of the leached effluent. The experiments with a bioreactor with green and white colour light showed better results when compared to blue and red colour lights. The effluent of the sugar industry can be reclamated in green colour bioreactor in presence of both the BGA tested. This piece of work was designed to reclamate the sugar industry effluent by blue-green algae. But to our surprise except Westiellopsis and Anabaena no other alga could withstand the toxicant and reclamate the effluent in natural conditions and also in a bioreactor and this model can be used to reclamate the sugar industry effluent contaminated environment.
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