Potential Application of Urea and NPK 15:15:15 Fertilizers as Biostimulants in the Bioremediation of Domestic Wastewater

Andrew N. Amenaghawon^1, , Peter A. Asegame¹ and Kessington O. Obahiagbon¹

¹Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria

Cite this paper:
Andrew N. Amenaghawon, Peter A. Asegame and Kessington O. Obahiagbon. Potential Application of Urea and NPK 15:15:15 Fertilizers as Biostimulants in the Bioremediation of Domestic Wastewater. American Journal of Environmental Protection. 2013; 1(4):91-95. doi: 10.12691/env-1-4-3

Abstract

The role of urea and NPK 15:15:15 fertilisers as biostimulants of microbes in the bioremediation of domestic wastewater was investigated in this study. Five samples of domestic wastewater supplemented with 10, 20, 40, 60 and 80 g/L of urea, NPK as well as a combination of both fertilisers and the control were monitored for bioremediation. The indicating parameters such as pH, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), and Dissolved Oxygen (DO) over a period of 5 weeks were used. The results obtained showed that there was a BOD reduction of 86.62, 85.24 and 86.85% for wastewater treated with urea, NPK and a combination of both respectively. Stimulation by the fertilisers improved the DO level by 76, 75 and 77.8% respectively for wastewater treated with urea, NPK and a combination of both respectively. Generally, the best results were obtained when both fertilisers were used together. The final values of pH, BOD and DO fell within the values of 6-9, 30 mg/L and 2 mg/L set by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA). The results obtained indicate the effective use of urea and NPK fertilisers in stimulating the activity of microbes for bioremediation in wastewater.

Keywords:
bioremediation domestic wastewater urea NPK Biochemical Oxygen Demand dissolved oxygen

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