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Luffa cylindrica (Sponge Gourd) Fibers in Treatment of Greywater: an Aerobic Fixed-Film Reactor Approach

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Abstract

The need for potable water consumption in urban and suburban regions can be decreased by greywater treatment and its reuse. Utilizing natural fibers may provide sustainable solutions in addressing challenges related to water resource management. In this study, a fixed-film reactor was designed with Luffa cylindrica (an annually occurring fruit) as a bio-carrier. The lab-scale reactors were configured with and without Luffa cylindrica and were run for 90 days in fed-batch mode. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed to validate biofilm production over time. Monitoring COD, nitrogen, and total phosphate removal allowed for analysis of treatment effectiveness. Results demonstrated the treatment efficiency for the experimental reactor was 70.96%, 97.02%, 92.57%, and 81.20% for COD, nitrogen, phosphate, and anionic surfactant (AS), respectively. 16 s rRNA gene sequencing of bio-carrier and control greywater samples was carried out. Many bacteria known to break down anionic surfactants were observed, and microbial succession was witnessed in the control reactor vs. the experimental reactor samples. The three most prevalent genera in the experimental samples were Chlorobium, Chlorobaculum, and Terrimonas. However, it is crucial to underscore that additional research is essential to solidify our understanding in this domain, with this study laying the fundamental groundwork.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article.

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Acknowledgements

The authors want to thank Dr. Girivyankatesh Hippargi, CSIR-NEERI, for helping with the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The manuscript was checked using iThenticate software at NEERI, Knowledge Resource Center, KRC no.-CSIR-NEERI/KRC/2020/JULY/DRC-CSUM/1.

Funding

The authors wish to acknowledge the Department of Biotechnology Funded project, India, for providing the funds necessary for this work. We are incredibly grateful to the Director, CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur, for support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Biotechnology and Genomics Division, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nehru Marg, Nagpur, 440020, India

    Upasana Arora & Atya Kapley

  2. Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India

    Himanshu Kumar Khuntia & H. N. Chanakya

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  1. Upasana Arora
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Material preparation, experiments, data collection, initial draft, and analysis were performed by UA. Editing and approvals were done by AK, HKK, and HNC. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Atya Kapley.

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Arora, U., Khuntia, H.K., Chanakya, H.N. et al. Luffa cylindrica (Sponge Gourd) Fibers in Treatment of Greywater: an Aerobic Fixed-Film Reactor Approach. Appl Biochem Biotechnol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-023-04804-3

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