Efficiency in Nutrients removal from waste water using Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and Water Cabbage (Pistia stratiotes)

Effective waste water management is essential to maintain environmental quality and protect public health, especially in areas where untreated waste water could enter aquatic ecosystems like rivers, lakes and wetlands. This project compares the efficiency of aquatic plants, water hyacinth( Eichhornia crassipes) and water cabbage( pistia stratiotes) in absorption of nutrients, from waste water. The experiment set up consists of three tanks labeled as tank 1, tank 2 and tank 3, each containing equal volume of untreated waste water under the same environmental conditions, tank 1 is the control experiment while tank 2 is covered with water hyacinth, tank 3 covered with water cabbage. This study monitored the dynamic changes of nutrient concentrations, especially nitrogen, ammonia and phosphate compounds in the tanks named above over a period of 2 months. The research is ongoing and data will be available once completed before presentation. The project is set to determine which aquatic plant between the two is more efficient in nutrient removal and therefore, the findings used to provide insights in their application in cheaper waste water treatment.