Phytodegradation Effect of Leucobryum glaucum (Pincushion Moss) in a Source of Wastewater

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, human activities are mostly dependent on water sources. Along with these, people tend to neglect their value and cause changes in physical, chemical, and biological properties of water, which can make residents ill and damage the environment. Therefore, it is known that much of the water supply ends up as wastewater, which makes its treatment very important. An effective way in removing pollutants in wastewater is through phytodegradation, the breaking down of contaminants taken up by plants through metabolic processes and turning the absorbed contaminants into food. L. glaucum, from the family of Bryophyta (moss), has a physical structure that can absorb metals. Therefore, it is used as an active filtering and adsorption agent for the COD and BOD treatment of wastewater. This study was conducted to perform the phytodegradation process using L. glaucum in lessening the chemical oxygen demand and biological oxygen demand of a wastewater source.

METHODS

Parallel -Group Design was used in the study to compare the two sample groups. in this design, the experimental groupsare the wastewater that underwent phytodegradation using 75 grams, 95 grams, 115 grams, 135 grams, and no amount of L. glaucum. The control group was the wastewater that didn't receive any form of ministration. The researcher compared the groups by analyzing their water quality. This study used only one process-phytodegradation. The effectiveness of the process was manifested on the result of the water quality tests after a month of incubation.

RESULTS

T-test was used in testing the significance between the pre-test and post-test of BOD having 35 mg/L, decreasing up to 7 mg/L, and COD having 72 ppm depleting up to 21 mg/L. Salient findings from the COD, BOD, and Water Quality tests such as TSS, TDS, Conductivity, pH & Salinity revealed that L. glaucum is effective in photodegradation wastewater. The wastewater that underwent phytodegradation with the most number of L. glaucum had the lowest chemical and biological oxygen demand.

DISCUSSIONS

It was proven that L. glaucum could decrease the COD and BOD of wastewater. Absorption of pollutants with the photodegradation ability of L. glaucum is a new efficient, environmental-friendly, and cost-effective alternative method in reducing contaminants on sewage. Escalating pollution on local canals should be stopped with the use of L. glaucum because plants and fishes harvested from such contaminated waters contain significant levels of the heavy metals that can impair human health.