Enhanced Phytoremediation of Sewage using Co-Culture of Macrophytes: A Sustainable Approach for Wastewater Treatment

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IJEP 45(10): 891-899 : Vol. 45 Issue. 10 (October 2025)

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Vijayant Panday and Ananda Babu K.*

Shri Vaishnav Vidyapeeth Vishwavidyalaya, Department of Civil Engineering, Indore – 453 111, Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract

The increasing discharge of inadequately treated or untreated sewage effluent into waterbodies due to urbanization and industrial activities has become a global environmental concern, contributing to water eutrophication. Municipal sewage effluent contains various contaminants, such as ammonia, nitrate, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and phosphate, which can lead to nutrient pollution and oxygen depletion, adversely affecting aquatic ecosystems. Phytoremediation, which uses aquatic plants, can be considered a promising alternative for nutrient removal and water purification. The current study investigates the phytoremediation potential of macrophytes, duckweed (Lemna minor) and Azolla (Azolla caroliniana), both individually and in combination, for treating sewage influent from the Kabit Khedi sewage treatment plant (STP) in Indore. The experiment was conducted over 30 days, measuring the removal rates of BOD, ammonia, nitrate and phosphate. The co-culture of duckweed and Azolla demonstrated efficient performance, achieving reductions of 89% for BOD, 81% for ammonia, 85% for nitrate and 74% for phosphate, surpassing the nutrient removal efficiency of monocultures. Kinetic analysis confirmed first-order kinetics for nutrient removal, with higher rate constants observed in treatments using consortium. The results indicate that co-culturing duckweed and Azolla offers a highly effective, cost-efficient and scalable alternative for wastewater treatment, promoting sustainable nutrient management.

Keywords

Phytoremediation, Duckweed (Lemna minor), Azolla (Azolla caroliniana), Sewage treatment

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