Phycoremediation of Textile Industry Effluent by Cyanobacteria (Nostoc muscorum and Anabaena variabilis)

Phycoremediation is the process of using algae for the removal and biotransformation of pollutants from waste water. Cyanobacteria can be an effective for costly and laborious physical and chemical methods for the treatments of textile industry effluent. In this study, untreated textile industry effluents were treated by two native species of cyanobacteria and then physical and chemical parameters of the treated water were analyzed to assess the efficiency of the treatments. Untreated waste water samples were collected from the Konabari industrial area of Gazipur City Corporation of Bangladesh. Two native species of cyanobacteria, Nostoc muscorum and Anabaena variabilis were used in this study. These two species were cultured in BG 11 media and inoculated onto the untreated waste water. Fifteen days later, pH level raised significantly, while EC (Electrical Conductivity), TDS (Total Dissolved Solids), COD (chemical oxygen demand) and BOD (Biochemical oxygen demand) parameters were found to be reduced. The levels of magnesium, calcium, sulphate, nickel and zinc were also reduced after the cyanobacterial treatment. The comparative study between two species showed that A. variabilis had higher efficiency in reducing the pollution load from the waste water than the N. muscorum species. From the results, it is suggested that native cyanobacteria has active role in the reduction of pollution level from textile industry effluent. More in-depth studies should be undertaken to establish the role of these cyanobacterial species in phycoremediation as well as to elucidate their mechanism of action.