Potential of treating unsterilized Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) using freshwater microalgae

Abstract

Untreated Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is a wastewater that contains high amount of chemical substances that when discharge directly into the waterways causes acute water pollution crises especially to Malaysia where palm oil is cultivated extensively. This research was carried out in order to evaluate the potential of utilizing Chlorella sorokiniana for the phycoremediation of POME. C. sorokiniana grew in POME under different dilutions of 80%, 60%, 40% and 20%. C. sorokiniana removed nitrate, total phosphorus, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonium at ranges of 33-71%, 29-64%, 19-91% and 70-98% over 15 days culture. This study proved the successful cultivation of microalgae in unsterilized POME which could contribute to the effort in finding effective method of treating POME.