Utilization of Bacillus subtilis and Aspergillus niger for the Bioremediation of Heavy Metals in the WUPA Wastewater Treatment Plant, Abuja

Safe discharge of untreated wastewater and scarcity of water is still a burning problem in front of mankind. The study was undertaken to assess the potentials of Bacillus subtilis and Aspergillus niger for remediation potentials in wastewater. The wastewater samples (influent and effluent) were analyzed for physiochemical parameters and heavy metals analysis and compared against WHO specification for water quality. All physiochemical parameters for both effluent and influent (pH, Temperature, Conductivity, Turbidity, TDS, TSS, BOD, COD, Nitrate, and Sulphate) were within specifications except for high turbidity of 181 NTU recorded for influent wastewater against WHO specification of (<40 NTU). and heavy metal analysis was carried out before and after treatment of the wastewater. The result shows the heavy metals analyzed for each wastewater were within World Health Organization (WHO) specifications with the exceptions of Mn: 0.31 mg/l and Fe: 0.91 mg/l present in the influent wastewater which were above WHO specifications (Mn: 0.05 mg/l and Fe: 0.30 mg/l). Bioaugmentation activities were analyzed for both Bacillus subtilis and Aspergillus niger for both influent and effluent wastewater. The removal of heavy metal was determined using AAS and results reveals that the introduction of Bacillus subtilis and Aspergillus niger in the influent wastewater did not remediate the heavy metals as expected but for the effluent wastewater the bioaugmentation activity of Bacillus subtilis and Aspergillus niger individually show good remediation potentials as it reduce the heavy metals (Mn, Fe, and Zn) within WHO specification against their initial concentrations. In conclusion Bacillus subtilis has more remediation potential than Aspergillus niger when bioaugmented in wastewater.