COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF BREWERY EFFLUENT USING MARINE MICROALGAE

ABSTRACT
A study on the effect of brewery effluent on two microalgae Thalassiosira sp. and Chaetoceros gracilis was carried out for fourteen (14) days. The experiment was done in triplicate using concentrations 0% (control), 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% of brewery effluent. Growth responses were measured using a visible spectrophotometer at 750nm and some physicochemical parameters were analyzed before and after the experiment using standard methods. Descriptive statistics, inferential (one way analysis of variance) ANOVA repeated measures, paired t-test and Tukey test were done using Microsoft excel 2010 and statistical package for social sciences SPSS20. The results showed that there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the growth response of both microalgae. Different concentrations of brewery effluent affected the growth of Thalassiosira sp. and Chaetoceros gracilis. Higher concentrations (20%, 25% and 30%) had more stimulatory effect than lower concentrations (5%, 10% and 15%) when Thalassiosira sp. was used. Chaetoceros gracilis grew best in lower concentrations of 10%, 15% and 20%. A decrease in temperature was observed in all treatments while TOC and COD decreased at lower concentrations of brewery effluent then remained constant at higher concentrations.