Detection and Removal of Chromium Under Various Process Parameters from the Local Industrial Wastewater by Nymphaeaalba

The recent research reports the potential of Nymphaea alba for the removal of poisonous and toxic heavy metal like chromium from industrial waste water. Chromium is one of the toxic environmental pollutants, which is a major threat not only for aquatic life but also causes various health problems like skin rashes, ulcer, respiratory problems, kidney and liver damage, mutagenic and carcinogenic. This issue needs to be resolved on priority basis. The present research for removal of chromium is based on very simple, innovative and cost effective methodology rather than expensive techniques. The selection of Nymphaea alba (Nilofar flower) for chromium removal from the industrial effluents were based on its availability in Asian countries. The samples were collected from various industries and concentration of heavy metal was examined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The concentration of chromium was higher than the limits recommended by environmental protection agency of Pakistan. The removal of chromium was studied by Nymphaea alba in order to study the absorption of metal on biomass and there was remarkable decrease in the concentration of metal. The percentage removal efficiency of chromium was observed under different parameters like change in absorbent mass, time, temperature, pH and agitation speed using UV/Visible Spectrophotometer. The percentage removal efficiency for standard solution was 84.23% and the percentage removal efficiency for industrial effluents were 94.45%.