Bioremediation of the textile waste effluent by Chlorella vulgaris

The microalgae biomass production from textile waste effluent is a possible solution for the environmental impact generated by the effluent discharge into water sources. The potential application of Chlorella vulgaris for bioremediation of textile waste effluent (WE) was investigated using 22 Central Composite Design (CCD). This work addresses the adaptation of the microalgae C. vulgaris in textile waste effluent (WE) and the study of the best dilution of the WE for maximum biomass production and for the removal of colour and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) by this microalga. The cultivation of C. vulgaris, presented maximum cellular concentrations Cmax and maximum specific growth rates μmax in the wastewater concentration of 5.0% and 17.5%, respectively. The highest colour and COD removals occurred with 17.5% of textile waste effluent. The results of C. vulgaris culture in the textile waste effluent demonstrated the possibility of using this microalga for the colour and COD removal and for biomass production. There was a significant negative relationship between textile waste effluent concentration and Cmax at 0.05 level of significance. However, sodium bicarbonate concentration did not significantly influence the responses of Cmax and the removal of colour and COD.