Phytoremediation of tofu wastewater using Eichhornia crassipes

Abstract

The tofu industry in Indonesia is generally dominated by small industries so that the wastewater produced is not properly managed. The tofu industries generally produce wastewater from the washing, pressing, and molding process. Phytoremediation can be used as an alternative solution for tofu wastewater remediation process because of its advantages as a cost-effective, efficient, and eco-friendly technology. This research used parallel reactor with circulation flow. Eichhornia crassipes with 1500 gram/compartment was used as the growing medium. The variables used in this study is the phytoremediation treatment and phytoremediation time. Phytoremediation treatment variations used anaeration and aeration methods for 10 days. The results of this study showed that the effectiveness of the average decrease in the two treatments; (1) anaeration treatment could reduce BOD 59.84%, COD 58.95%, TSS 86.79% and ammonia 25.43%, (2) aeration treatment could reduce BOD 80.67%, COD amounting to 78.28%, TSS 65.79% and ammonia 49.79%. Percentage of absorption of pollutant levels (BOD, COD, TSS, ammonia) in tofu wastewater increases with increasing phytoremediation time and number of compartments. According to the effectiveness value, aeration treatment was the most effective treatment in reducing the levels of tofu wastewater pollutants.