Assessment of the efficacy of Azolla pinnata in improving textile dye wastewater quality at varying concentrations

Abstract

This in-vitro study scrutinized the efficacy of Azolla pinnata in ameliorating the quality of wastewater emanating from textile dyeing. The investigation centered on three discrete textile dye wastewater concentrations (30%, 60%, and 100%) within a mesocosm environment over five days. Physicochemical parameters, including temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity, and salinity, were systematically assessed both prior to and subsequent to the introduction of Azolla pinnata. Significantly, throughout the five-day duration of the experiment, periodic observations were conducted at 24-h intervals, and no pH adjustments were executed. The results demonstrated that Azolla pinnata exhibited optimal efficacy in the treatment involving a 30% concentration of wastewater (designated as T1). The improvements in water quality indicators for this specific treatment (T1) were quantified as follows: 36.84% for pH, 66.67% for BOD₅, 55.05% for COD, 53.40% for EC, 46.85% for TDS, 58.60% for TSS, 52.21% for salinity and 76.86% for turbidity. The authors suggest that the utilization of Azolla pinnata in a selective treatment approach demonstrates considerable promise and viability for the phytoremediation of wastewater contaminated with textile dyes.

Keywords:

• Aquatic macrophyte
• Azolla pinnata
• phytoremediation
• textile dye-wastewater
• wastewater quality enhancement

Acknowledgments

The authors express their gratitude for the provision of facilities and research assistance by the Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bangladesh University of Professionals, Mirpur Cantonment, Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh.

Authors’ contributions

All authors participated in formulating and designing the study. Nishat Tasnim and Md. Arifur Rahman Bhuiyan were responsible for material preparation, data collection, and analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was composed by Nishat Tasnim, Ferdous Ara Swarna and subsequently modified by Khadiza Akter Tania, Era Juliet Das, Md. Arifur Rahman Bhuiyan. The final draft was thoroughly revised, modified and formatted by Era Juliet Das and Md. Arifur Rahman Bhuiyan provided overall supervision. All authors reviewed and endorsed the final version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article [and/or] its supplementary materials.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was received for conducting this study.