Comparative Assessment of Treatment of Mushroom Farm Wastewater Using Plant (Ceratophyllum demersum L.) and Algae (Chlorella vulgaris): Experimental and Kinetic Studies

Mushroom cultivation produces a significant amount of wastewater containing high levels of both organic and inorganic contaminants. In this study, mushroom farm wastewater (MFW) was treated separately by aquatic macrophytes (Ceratophyllum demersum L.) and algae (Chlorella vulgaris). The laboratory experiments consisted of a constructed reactor planted with selected aquatic plants and a microalgal culture and operated for 16 days. The pollutant removal efficiency was evaluated using different experimental combinations such as control 1 (C. demersum using borewell water), control 2 (C. vulgaris using borewell water), T1 (C. demersum using MFW), and T2 (C. vulgaris using MFW), respectively. The results showed that the T1 treatment had the highest significant (p < 0.05) removal efficiency of selected pollutant parameters (total dissolved solids: 86.00%; biochemical oxygen demand: 83.10%; chemical oxygen demand: 86.60%; total nitrogen: 84.30%; total phosphorus: 75.60%). The kinetic studies using the first-order reaction model showed a good fit (R-2 > 0.8317) and the maximum rate constant (k) of pollutant reduction in T1 treatment. In addition, the growth, biochemical, and proximate parameters of both C. demersum and C. vulgaris were highest in the same treatment. Therefore, the proposed experiment offers a promising approach for the efficient and environmentally friendly treatment of MFW.