Research Article | OPEN ACCESS
Evaluation and Mitigation of Industrial Wastewater Pollutants from Soap Factories and Breweries in the Bafoussam City Vicinity (Western Highlands of Cameroon)
1,2,3,4, 5C. Gouafo and 1, 2B.P.K. Yerima
1Laboratory of Industrial and Systems Engineering Environment (LISIE),
IUT/FV Bandjoun-University of Dschang, Cameroon
2Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences,
University of Dschang, P.O. Box 96, Dschang, Cameroon
3Laboratory for the Grounds and Environment, Faculty of Agronomy and
Agricultural Sciences (FASA)
4Laboratories of Botany Applied (LABOA), University of Dschang, Cameroon
5Laboratory of Grounds, Plants, Manure and Water (LASPEE), Institute of the Agronomic Research and Development (IRAD), Ministry for the Scientific and Technical Search for Yaounde, Cameroon
Research Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences 2013 9:529-536
Received: June 11, 2012 | Accepted: June 20, 2013 | Published: September 20, 2013
Abstract
The discharge of wastewaters of industries in the Bafoussam city vicinity deteriorate the quality of surface and underground water and soils. The purpose of this study is to determine the level of ecotoxicity in the different industries and ways to mitigate this pollution. The following physico-chemical parameters were determined: COD, BOD5, OM, TP, Cu, Cd, Zn, Cr, Fe, Al, EC, Turbidity, $NH_4^+$ and $NO_3^-$ from wastewaters from two soap factories (SWC and SCS) and one Brewery (ASCB) in Bafoussam. Statistical analysis, were made to determine the correlation coefficient R and covariance. R varies from 0.715 to 0.897. These coefficients indicate a positive correlation different from 1; hence, we cannot predict the parameters of an industry based on the parameters of the other. Total heavy metals contents range from 118.66 mg/L for SCS to 39.58 mg/L for the SWC and to 2.45 mg/L for the ASCB. COD ranges from 122 to 959 mg/L; the highest value was obtained in the SCS. These results indicate that the SCS is the most polluting industry. To reduce the pollution we recommended that each industry recycle its wastewater and put in place specific treatment plants because pollutants to eliminate vary depending on the industry. The Municipal community is also advised to institute sensitization meetings with the promoters of these industries on proper wastewater handling and treatment. Penalties for pollution should be proportional to the degree of pollution.
Keywords:
Correlation coefficient, ecotoxicity, heavy metals, physico-chemical parameters, sensitization meeting, treatment plants,
Competing interests
The authors have no competing interests.
Open Access Policy
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Copyright
The authors have no competing interests.
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ISSN (Online): 2041-0492
ISSN (Print): 2041-0484 |
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