Evaluation of Improved Bioremediation Strategy for the Treatment of Abattoir Wastewater using Bacillus licheniformis ZUL012

Abstract

The abattoir generates a large volume and variety of biowastes, posing a high risk of environmental contamination, disease outbreaks, and contaminated food. The purpose of this research was to characterize and remediate abattoir wastewater (Aww). The physicochemical characterization of the Aww revealed high level of pollution which served as a baseline for monitoring treatment efficacy. The B. licheniformis ZUL012 isolated from textile wastewater was primed with H₂O₂ and used to remediate Aww waste water in the current study. This study revealed Aww high pollution level which necessitated a need for the Treatment with this bacterium resulted in a significant decrease in some of the waste water parameters tested. The induced cell reduced the parameters to 155 41 mg/L, 75 mg/L, 454 mg/L, 1750 mg/L, and 1000 mg/L, whereas the naive cell reduced them to 375 mg/L, 776 mg/L, and 3122 mg/L, respectively. This equates to an average reduction of 95 percent (COD), 95 percent (BOD5), 77 percent (TOC), and 71% (TDS) compared to raw wastewater. These novel strategies show that H2O2-induced B. licheniformis ZUL012 could be a viable hybrid-bioremediation option for reducing or transforming the pollutants present in Aww, thereby contributing to compliance with wastewater discharge regulations into bodies of water.