Biotreatment of sugar industry effluent using the tank cleaner, Pterygoplichthys pardalis

Wastewater can be considered as a precious resource that can be used to fulfill our growing demands of water. In the present study, physico-chemical parameters of the sugar industry effluent were analyzed. The sailfin catfish,  Pterygoplichthys pardalis were exposed to 10, 20, 30 and 40 % concentrations of sugar industry effluent for 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 days of treatment. The physico-chemical parameters such as pH, total solids, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, total alkalinity, chlorides, total hardness, nitrates, sulphates, total phosphorus, ammonia and BOD were gradually reduced after treatment with P. pardalis for all the exposed concentrations of sugar industry effluent. Students’ ‘t‟ test was used to test the level of significance for the variation between control and experimental sets for all the parameters. Ammonia, pH and chlorides exhibited more significant difference than the other parameters. Results revealed that P. pardalis is highly efficient in the treatment of sugar industry effluent. Biotreatment with P. pardalis may provide an economical and environmentally sustainable treatment method in future.