Title: The selection of palm oil mill effluent for phytoremediation treatment system using Cyperus alternifolius

Authors: Siti Kamariah Md Sa'at; Nastaein Qamaruz Zaman; Mohd Suffian Yusoff; Hossein Farraji

Addresses: School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia; School of Bioprocess Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, 02600 Arau, Perlis, Malaysia ' School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia; Solid Waste Management Cluster, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia ' School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia; Solid Waste Management Cluster, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia ' School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia; Faculty of Physic and Chemical Science, University of Canterbury, New Zealand

Abstract: Phytoremediation approach attains more attention recently due to the sustainable and green technology requirement with the utilisation of various aquatic macrophytes in effluent treatment. The phytoremediation potential of Cyperus alternifolius, also known as umbrella sedge, was studied using different sources and concentrations of palm oil mill effluent (POME). The phytoremediation of C. alternifolius was tested with aerobic, facultative, and polishing pond POME for 30 days of batch treatment in 6 L buckets for pollutant removal. For aerobic pond POME, the removal achieved 94.7% of TSS, 95.5% of COD, 92.7% of NH₃-N, and 99.3% of TP. Meanwhile, for facultative pond POME, the removal of TSS, COD, NH₃-N, and TP was 86.5%, 85.6%, 90.7%, and 99.5%, respectively. The polishing pond showed a great removal of TP with 99.8%. The study suggests C. alternifolius as a macrophyte in the phytoremediation treatment of POME, particularly for the polishing pond effluent with a promising prospect.

Keywords: aquatic plant; Cyperus alternifolius; palm oil mill effluent; phytoremediation; water quality.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEE.2019.102379

International Journal of Environmental Engineering, 2019 Vol.10 No.2, pp.106 - 117

Accepted: 29 Mar 2019
Published online: 23 Sep 2019 *

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