Title: Effect of textile effluent treatment plant sludge on the growth metabolism of Green gram (Vigna radiata L)

Authors: Jyoti Prasad Kakati; Ponnusamy Ponmurugan; Natarajan Rajasekaran; Balasubramanian Mythili Gnanamangai

Addresses: Department of Biotechnology, K.S. Rangasamy College of Technology, Tiruchengode – 637 215, Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Biotechnology, K.S. Rangasamy College of Technology, Tiruchengode – 637 215, Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu, India ' Summer India Textile Limited, Processing Division, Tiruchengode – 637 211, Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Biotechnology, K.S. Rangasamy College of Technology, Tiruchengode – 637 215, Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: An attempt has been made to study the potential reuse of textile effluent treatment plant sludge on the growth of Green gram (Vigna radiata L) as a fertiliser. The physico-chemical and engineering properties of a composite textile sludge sample have been studied before starting the experiment to evaluate its suitability as fertiliser. The results showed that the sludge material contained sufficient amount of macro and micro nutrients, however, some of the nutrients such as lead, ferrous, sulphate and chloride were found to be high. On the other hand, other physical parameters such as total hardness, total volatile solids and pH were found to be high in the sludge. Among the various combinations of sludge waste with farm yard manures tested, a combination at 10% sludge plus 90% farm yard manure showed better seed germination and plant growth of Green gram than other combinations. All the biochemical parameters and enzyme activities were increased significantly in treated plants when compared to untreated control plants. It is concluded that 100% sludge showed inhibitory effect of the plant growth and it is not suitable for plant growth as fertiliser. At the same time, sludge at 10% and some extent to 25% levels could be used as fertiliser to get the maximal growth of the plant. Further studies are required to study about the accumulation of toxic materials if any in the plant system.

Keywords: textile effluent; waste management; sludge; fertilisers; plant growth; Green gram; textile effluent; wastewater treatment; Vigna radiata L; farm yard manure; seed germination.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2013.053181

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2013 Vol.51 No.1/2, pp.79 - 90

Received: 30 Jul 2011
Accepted: 03 Jun 2012
Published online: 28 Feb 2014 *

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