Assessment of Waste Water Treatment Plant Efficiency through Physiochemical Analysis : A Case Study of I-9 Waste Water Treatment in Pakistan (P-0812) (MFN 5839)

Abstract

This study was conducted at Industrial Area I-9 treatment plant Islamabad to analyze the physio-chemical assessment of various parameters and heavy metals concentrations in wastewater and to check its efficiency. Therefore composite wastewater samples were collected from influent, effluent and external stream. The results were compared with permissible limits of Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA).The average results of influent, effluent and external stream of wastewater samples are: pH ranged from 5.9 to 8, 5.3 to 10.1 and 6.8 to 6.9, EC ranged from 0.83 to 0.97 ms/cm, 0.7 to 1.2 ms/cm and 0.7 to 0.89 ms/cm, TDS ranged from 570 to 850 ppm, 570 to 630 ppm and 480 to 600 ppm, TSS ranged from 0.062 to 0.09 mg/l, 0.008 to 0.42 mg/l and 0.068 to 0.069 mg/l, F ranged from 0.4 to 4.7 mg/l, 0.8 to 3.5 mg/l and 1.2 to 2.9 mg/l, Cl ranged from 48.212 to 180.086 mg/l, 56.72 to 71.609 mg/l and 43.958 to 54.593 mg/l, respectively. Heavy metal concentrations were analyzed by using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and were found that Ni ranged from 1.19 to 1.66 mg/l, 1.15 to 1.56 mg/l and 1.11 to 1.21 mg/l, Cr ranged from 1.07 to 1.1 mg/l, 1.07 to 1.1 mg/l and 1.1 to 1.11 mg/l, Cd ranged from 1.2 to 1.4 mg/l, 1.1 to 1.2 mg/l and 0.8 to 1 mg/l, Pb ranged from 1.04 to 1.24 mg/l, 1.06 to 1.26 mg/l and 1.14 to 1.22 mg/l, Mn ranged from 0.193 to 0.579 mg/l, 0.403 to 0.1 mg/l and 0 to 0.407 mg/l, Fe ranged from 0.25 to 2.938 mg/l, 0.551 to 2.055 mg/l and 2.673 to 3.374 mg/l, Zn ranged from 1.9 to 2.3 mg/l, 1.8 to 2.1 mg/l and 2.3 to 2.77 mg/l, As ranged from 0.01 to 0.3 mg/l, 0 to 0.01 mg/l and 0.01 to 0.02 mg/l, respectively. The results revealed that concentration of Cr, Mn, Pb, Cd and Ni were found above the permissible limits. So it is recommended that industrial effluents and waste should be treated before releasing or dumping into the external environment.