Bio-treatment capabilities of powdered <i>Moringa oleifera</i> seeds and a consortium of some bacterial isolates in cassava mill effluent (CME)

Abstract

Access to portable water supply is a serious challenge worldwide. Therefore, the development of sustainable, environmentally friendly  wastewater management and recycling methods have become essential. This study evaluated the ability of powdered Moringa oleifera  seeds and a consortium of Bacillus and Pseudomonas species to treat cassava mill effluent (CME) by monitoring the physicochemical  parameters using standard methods. The bacterial counts revealed total coliform and total viable counts of 5±0.17 x 10⁵ cfu/ml and  4.8±0.32 x 10⁵ cfu/ml respectively. At the end of the 7-day bio-treatment of cassava mill effluent by Moringa oleifera seeds, the turbidity  reduced by 79.45%. The total organic carbon had a reduction of 92.99% using Moringa oleifera seeds while the consortium gave 69.17%;  the biochemical oxygen demand reduced by 99.30% using Moringa oleifera while the consortium was by 72.41%. Chemical oxygen  demand had a reduction of 94.25% using Moringa oleifera seeds, while the consortium of bacterial isolates gave 83.34%. The pH reported  was within the acidic range, while the temperature slightly decreased with increasing days of bio-treatment. Biodegradation indices  showed a strong positive correlation between BOD and COD in both CME treatments. This study reports the efficacy of Moringa powdered seeds and a consortium of Bacillus and Pseudomonas species in the treatment of cassava mill effluent.