Search

Water contamination has become a global challenge which must be tackled. This study examined the contamination level of water in four locations at Ogbete area Enugu state. Carters street had the highest pH of 5.23 which is below the WHO standards limits for drinking water. The conductivities ranged from the highest conductivity 1445 µs/cm, which is below the WHO limits (8-10,000 µs/cm), TDS (1000 mg/l., TSS (WHO (500 mg/l). For alkalinity, the four locations were all below the (150 mg/l) standard set by World Health Organisation. Results showed that most of the physicochemical, biological and heavy metals parameters considered in this study were significantly above the permissible or allowed by WHO. It is therefore recommended that the water should be treated before use.

The present study evaluates the bioremediation potential of indigenousbacterial species isolated from dye-contaminated soil samples from small dyeingoutlet located in Ilorin. The water pollution index was estimated based on thephysicochemical characteristics and heavy metal concentrations of the raw (Day0) and treated textile wastewater such as pH, biochemical oxygen demand-5,chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids and total dissolved solid withmean values of 8.85±0.45 mg/L, 1200±21.3 mg/L, 2440±31.3 mg/L, 1660±17.2 mg/Land 2650±28.1 mg/L respectively, similarly, Lead was the most abundant heavymetal detected in the sample while Cadmium concentration was the lowest withthe mean values of 3.52±0.00 mg/L and 2.18±0.00 mg/L respectively. The bacterialstrain with highest dye decolorization capacity was screened and identified as Bacillus licheniformis ZUL012.Theisolate was consequently used for the bioremediation of the wastewater over aperiod of 10 days. The results showed an incredible reduction in the physiochemical characteristics and heavymetal concentrations of the textile wastewater in the following ranges(8.85-6.55), (1200-300) mg/L, (2440-518) mg/L, (1660-666) mg/L and (2650-920)mg/L with the highest removal efficiency of 75 %, 78 %, 60%, 65%, recorded for biochemical oxygen demand,chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solid, total dissolved solid,respectively while that of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium andnickel were 80 %, 60 %, 67 %, 72 % reduction, respectively. Laccase andAzoreductase activities tend to decrease as the pH gradually moved towardsacidic condition during the bioremediation process. Toxicity of the treatedeffluent was assessed using Maize and Bean seed germination test. Conclusively,these research findings can serve as a framework for the outlet design ofwastewater treatment plant for local textile outlets., The present study evaluates the bioremediation potential of indigenous bacterial species isolated from dye-contaminated soil samples from small dyeing outlet located in Ilorin. The water pollution index was estimated based on the physicochemical characteristics and heavy metal concentrations of the raw (Day 0) and treated textile wastewater such as pH, biochemical oxygen demand-5, chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids and total dissolved solid with mean values of 8.85±0.45 mg/L, 1200±21.3 mg/L, 2440±31.3 mg/L, 1660±17.2 mg/L and 2650±28.1 mg/L respectively, similarly, Lead was the most abundant heavy metal detected in the sample while Cadmium concentration was the lowest with the mean values of 3.52±0.00 mg/L and 2.18±0.00 mg/L respectively. The bacterial strain with highest dye decolorization capacity was screened and identified as Bacillus licheniformis ZUL012.The isolate was consequently used for the bioremediation of the wastewater over a period of 10 days. The results showed an incredible reduction in the physiochemical characteristics and heavy metal concentrations of the textile wastewater in the following ranges (8.85-6.55), (1200-300) mg/L, (2440-518) mg/L, (1660-666) mg/L and (2650-920) mg/L with the highest removal efficiency of 75 %, 78 %, 60%, 65%, recorded for biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solid, total dissolved solid, respectively while that of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium and nickel were 80 %, 60 %, 67 %, 72 % reduction, respectively. Laccase and Azoreductase activities tend to decrease as the pH gradually moved towards acidic condition during the bioremediation process. Toxicity of the treated effluent was assessed using Maize and Bean seed germination test. Conclusively, these research findings can serve as a framework for the outlet design of wastewater treatment plant for local textile outlets.

The effect of temperature on the antibacterial property of fermenting beniseed was assessed on six diarhoeagenic bacteria by keeping the fermenting seeds at 40C and 290C respectively. Both the liquor and the slurry were used in this study. The pH, total titratable acidity, microbial load and the microflora of the samples kept at the two different temperatures was determined daily for 7 days. The results showed that the liquor kept at 290C had its highest antibacterial activities after 24hrs of fermentation while the sample kept at 40C had its highest antibacterial activities after 72hrs of fermentation. The highest inhibitory effect was observed on B.cereus with zone diameter of 42mm by the sample kept at 290C and 36mm the sample kept at 40C. This result, when compared with standard commercial antibiotics showed that the fermenting liquor is more effective against four of the six bacteria used. The microbial load of the fermenting liquor increased from 2.4 x104 cfu/ml to 9.2x106cfu/ml in the sample kept at 290C and 2.4x104 cfu/ml to 2.8 x105 cfu/ml in the sample kept at 40C by day 4. Microorganisms found to be associated with the fermentation are Lactobacillus acidophilus, Pediococcus cerevisiaeandLeuconostoc mesenteroides. The pH of the fermenting liquor decreased from 5.50 at day 0 to 4.90 by day 4 for the sample kept at 40C while it decreased to 3.80 by day 4 for the sample kept at 290C. The total titratable acidity for the sample kept at 40C was highest by day 1 with a value of 27.00 and lowest by day 6 with a value of 10.00 while the one kept at 290C recorded the highest value of 56.10 by day 1 and lowest value of 15.50 by day 4. Since the fermented liquor significantly inhibited the growth of the test organisms used, it is therefore suggested that in the absence of antibiotics, fermented beniseed liquor can be used to treat diarrhoea within 24hours in rural areas where they may not be quick access to conventional antibiotics and can be used up to seven days when preserved in refrigerator to combat diarrhoea caused by these organisms.

A one year investigation of the zooplankton community composition and dynamics in Lake Οzeros (western Greece) revealed 25 invertebrate species (16 rotifers, three copepods, five cladocerans and one mollusc larva). The mean zooplankton abundance fluctuated between 59.4 to 818 ind l-1, having maximum values in spring. The species composition and seasonal variation do not differentiate Lake Ozeros from the nearby lakes. The presence of the dominant calanoid copepod Eudiaptomus drieschi and some of the rotifer species recorded are characteristics of either oligo- or eutrophic lakes. According to the trophic state index (TSI) Lake Ozeros is a meso-eutrophic ecosystem, in which the eutrophic character was possibly the result of the high charge with phosphorus (being raised by 28.9 % in comparison to previous decades), which came into the lake via the surrounding agricultural cultivations and mainly the pig-raising activities. In contrast, the concentrations of ΝΟ3, ΝΟ2 and NH4 have considerably decreased possibly due to the termination of the tobacco cultivations around the lake during the last years. The novel information on the abiotic and especially the biotic elements of Lake Ozeros provided by the present study can contribute to the effective management of this aquatic ecosystem in the future.