IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i3p1096-d318434.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigating Industrial Effluent Impact on Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant in Vaal, South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Eunice Iloms

    (Department of Environmental Science, University of South Africa—Florida Campus, Roodepoort 1709, South Africa)

  • Olusola O. Ololade

    (Centre for Environmental Management, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa)

  • Henry J. O. Ogola

    (Department of Environmental Science, University of South Africa—Florida Campus, Roodepoort 1709, South Africa
    School of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 210-40601, Bondo, Kenya)

  • Ramganesh Selvarajan

    (Department of Environmental Science, University of South Africa—Florida Campus, Roodepoort 1709, South Africa)

Abstract

Industrial effluents with high concentrations of toxic heavy metals are of great concern because of their persistence and non-degradability. However, poor operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment infrastructure is a great concern in South Africa. In this study, physico-chemical parameters and heavy metals (HMs) concentration of wastewater from five different industries, Leeuwkuil wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) inflow and effluent, and Vaal River water samples were monitored between January and September 2017, to investigate the correlation between heavy metal pollution and the location of industries and ascertain the effectiveness of the municipal WWTP. Physico-chemical variables such as pH, biological oxygen demand (BOD), dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS) and electrical conductivity (EC) exhibited both temporal and spatial variations with the values significantly higher in the industrial samples. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) results also showed that aluminium (Al), copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) were significantly higher in industrial effluents ( p < 0.05), with only Zn and Al exhibiting significant seasonal variability. Statistical correlation analysis revealed a poor correlation between physicochemical parameters and the HMs compositional quality of wastewater. However, toxic HMs (Zn, Cu and Pb) concentrations in treated wastewater from WWTP were above the permissible limits. Although the WWTP was effective in maintaining most of the wastewater parameters within South African Green drop Standards, the higher Cu, Zn, Pb and COD in its final effluent is a concern in terms of Vaal river health and biological diversity. Therefore, we recommend continuous monitoring and maintenance of the WWTPs infrastructure in the study area.

Suggested Citation

  • Eunice Iloms & Olusola O. Ololade & Henry J. O. Ogola & Ramganesh Selvarajan, 2020. "Investigating Industrial Effluent Impact on Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant in Vaal, South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:3:p:1096-:d:318434
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/3/1096/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/3/1096/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hong Ha Thi Vu & Shuai Gu & Thenepalli Thriveni & Mohd Danish Khan & Lai Quang Tuan & Ji Whan Ahn, 2019. "Sustainable Treatment for Sulfate and Lead Removal from Battery Wastewater," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-8, June.
    2. Olusola Oluwayemisi Ololade, 2018. "Understanding the nexus between energy and water: A basis for human survival in South Africa," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(2), pages 194-209, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marta Rodrigo Sanz & Vanessa Millán Gabet & Jean-Louis Gonzalez, 2021. "Inputs of Total and Labile Dissolved Metals from Six Facilities Continuously Discharging Treated Wastewaters to the Marine Environment of Gran Canaria Island (Canary Islands, Spain)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Sekoai, Patrick T. & Chunilall, Viren & Msele, Kwanele & Buthelezi, Lindiswa & Johakimu, Jonas & Andrew, Jerome & Zungu, Manqoba & Moloantoa, Karabelo & Maningi, Nontuthuko & Habimana, Olivier & Swart, 2023. "Biowaste biorefineries in South Africa: Current status, opportunities, and research and development needs," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Olusola O. Ololade & Palesa P. Rametse, 2018. "Determining factors that enable managers to implement an environmental management system for sustainable construction: A case study in Johannesburg," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1720-1732, December.
    2. Shuai Gu & Bitian Fu & Ji Whan Ahn, 2020. "Simultaneous Removal of Residual Sulfate and Heavy Metals from Spent Electrolyte of Lead-Acid Battery after Precipitation and Carbonation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-11, February.
    3. Kangwei Tang & Feng Zeng & Liang Shi & Long Zhu & Zining Chen & Feng Zhang, 2023. "Mechanical Behavior of Hydrated-Lime–Liquid-Stabilizer-Treated Granular Lateritic Soils," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-18, March.
    4. Ayanda M. Ngxumeshe & Motshekwe Ratsaka & Bohani Mtileni & Khathutshelo Nephawe, 2020. "Sustainable Application of Livestock Water Footprints in Different Beef Production Systems of South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-13, November.
    5. Olusola O. Ololade & Sabelo Mavimbela & Saheed A. Oke & Rinae Makhadi, 2019. "Impact of Leachate from Northern Landfill Site in Bloemfontein on Water and Soil Quality: Implications for Water and Food Security," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-19, August.
    6. Xiao Zhang & Chen Chen & Ting Cheng & Mingyue Wen & Lei Wang & Fenxu Pan, 2022. "Making Pb Adsorption-Saturated Attapulgite with Excellent Photocatalysis Properties through a Vulcanization Reaction and Its Application for MB Wastewater Degradation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-16, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:3:p:1096-:d:318434. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.