Effects of two species of filamentous algae Oscillatoria lutea var. contorta and Chaetophora elegans, isolated from municipal wastewater, on some of the wastewater parameters

Abstract

Focusing on microalgae for nutrients removal from wastewater is interesting because of being in expensive and less sludge production. Two filamentous algae, Oscillatoria lutea and Chaetophora elegans were sampled at domestic wastewater treatment, purified and identified. After proliferation, wastewater samples were inoculated using each alga and some of parameters were measured at defined intervals. The BOD5, COD, nitrate and phosphate were affected significantly by treatment with algae. Oscillatoria lutea was more effective on reducing BOD5, COD, nitrate and phosphate. The highest percentage of pollutants removal was related to raw wastewaters and the lowest one was obtained from growth of Chaetophora elegans on effluent. This study revealed that treatment of both raw wastewater and effluent can provide alternative media for growth of microalgae and the native strains could be used efficiently. Long term experiments in combination of different cultures in all seasons could be examined to enhance the removal of contaminants. Copyright © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.