Competence of Lepironia articulata in eradicating chemical oxygen demand and ammoniacal nitrogen in coffee processing mill effluent and its potential as green straw

Phytoremediation is an environmentally friendly technique in wastewater treatment because of its sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and simplicity. This study was conducted to examine the feasibility of use of Lepironia articulata, a potential phytoremediation plant that is native to Malaysia, in remediating coffee processing mill ef-fluent (CPME). The aim was to determine effluent concentration or contaminant load that the plant can resist, while simultaneously results in the good removal of pollutants during phytoremediation. Four brushes of L. articulata were planted individually in a pail/reactor (mentioned as reactor afterward) containing 3 kg of sand and exposed to five different concentrations of CPME (0%, 30%, 50%, 75%, and 100%). The initial chemical ox-ygen demand (COD) values were 510, 3100, 4200, 7290, and 8470 mg/L, respectively, and ammoniacal nitrogen (AN) concentrations were 26,128, 225, 376, and 509 mg/L, respectively. The height, appearance, and efficiency in removing COD and AN of each plant was observed throughout the 35-day exposure period. Results showed that plants exposed to 75% CPME demonstrated better growth than those exposed to other concentrations and exhib-ited the highest COD and AN removal rates (85.0% and 84.0%, respectively), providing evidence that L. articulata can be used as a phytoremediation agent of CPME with an initial COD concentration of 7290 mg/L and AN con-centration of 376 mg/L. This study highlights its support to the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations, particularly the reclamation of plant biomass used as a treatment agent and conversion into bio-degradable straws. Moreover, this study adds an attractive additional point of transforming waste into resource with the proposed wastewater treatment technology. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Phytoremediation using Lepironia articulata showed promising results in removing pollutants from coffee processing mill effluent, with the best growth and removal rates observed at 75% effluent concentration. This study supports the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and highlights the potential of transforming waste into a valuable resource through innovative wastewater treatment technologies.