THERMAL POWER PLANT DISCHARGED WASTEWATER CHARACTERIZATION: A CASE STUDYAfroza Akhter, Naseer Hussain Shah and Arif InamAbstract The practice of wastewater farming is an important development in wastewater resource management. Wastewater is usually utilized as a means of irrigation as well as a source of essential plant nutrients. Although the use of various industrial wastewaters for irrigation is in vogue, thermal power plant discharged wastewater seems to have evaded the attention of researchers, especially in India. This needs serious considerations, as more than hundred such plants are generating millions of litres wastewater leading to eutrophication of water bodies. Keeping this in view, a study was undertaken to analyze the physicochemical and heavy metal status of wastewater discharged from Harduaganj thermal power plant, Aligarh, India. The thermal power plant wastewater possessed a high BOD and COD. The concentration of some essential inorganic ions was higher in thermal power plant discharged wastewater as compared to ground water. Of these NO3-N, NH3-N, Phosphate, Sulphate, Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium could be considered beneficial as these are essential for the normal growth of a plant. It may be pointed out that high concentration of sodium and chloride are known to cause specific ion toxicity to plants. However, sodium upto 70 mg-1 doesnât cause any problem and in this study, the measured concentration was well below this range. Similarly, concentration of chloride was well below the prescribed range of 140-35 mg/l. The pH was almost neutral which is very important for nutrient availability. Among the estimated heavy metals, Nickel was highest in terms of concentration. |