Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sewage wastewater reclamation with sand column filter and reduction of heavy metal accumulation in tomato and okra

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Heavy metal accumulation has much increased in edible parts of fresh fruits and vegetables due to use of industrial waste/effluent, and wastewater. In the current work, sewage wastewater was reclaimed through a column filled with sand having a mesh size of 0.5 mm and its effect was investigated on concentration of different heavy metals, vegetative growth, and yield of okra and tomato. The use of unfiltered sewage wastewater (UFSW) had considerably higher concentrations of heavy metals but it substantially increased plant height, leaf number, and leaf area in both okra and tomato plants in contrast to filtered sewage wastewater (FSW). The application of UFSW resulted in a significantly higher accumulation of lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu) in roots and edible parts of okra and tomato as compared with FSW treatment. However, FSW and UFSW did not significantly influence concentrations of chromium (Cr) and cadmium (Cd) in roots and edible parts of both okra and tomato. In conclusion, sand column filtration technique could be efficiently used for the reclamation of sewage wastewater, and reduction of various heavy metals present in sewage wastewater–irrigated crops.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

All data are included in the manuscript.

References

  • Abedi-Koupai J, Eslamian S, Khaleghi M (2012) Investigation on the performance of sand filter incorporating tire chips as cover in subsurface drainage system. International Conference on Transport, Environment and Civil Engineering, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), August 25–26, 2012

  • Adimalla N, Chen J, Qian H (2020) Spatial characteristics of heavy metal contamination and potential human health risk assessment of urban soils: a case study from an urban region of South India. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 194:110406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.110406

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Agoro MA, Adeniji AO, Adefisoye MA, Okoh OO (2020) Heavy metals in wastewater and sewage sludge from selected municipal treatment plants in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Water 12(10):2746

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Anjum MA, Hussain S, Arshad P, Hassan A (2021) Irrigation water of different sources affects fruit quality attributes and heavy metals contents of un-grafted and commercial mango cultivars. J Environ Manag 281:111895

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Badr NB, Al-Qahtani KM, Alflaij SO, Al-Qahtani SF, Al-Saad MA (2020) The effect of industrial and sewage discharges on the quality of receiving waters and human health, Riyadh City-Saudi Arabia. Egypt J Aquat Res 46(2):116–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bali M, Tlili H (2019) Removal of heavy metals from wastewater using infiltration-percolation process and adsorption on activated carbon. Int J Environ Sci Technol 16(1):249–258

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Balkhair KS, Ashraf MA (2016) Field accumulation risks of heavy metals in soil and vegetable crop irrigated with sewage water in western region of Saudi Arabia. Saudi J Biol Sci 23(1):S32–S44

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Biswas GC, Sarkar A, Rashid MH, Shohan MH, Islam M, Wang Q (2015) Assessment of the irrigation feasibility of low-cost filtered municipal waste water for red amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor L. cv. Surma). Int Soil Water Conserv Res 3:239–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2015.07.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan MWH, Hasan KA, Balthazar-Silva D, Mirani ZA, Asghar M (2021) Evaluation of heavy metal pollutants in salt and seawater under the influence of the Lyari River and potential health risk assessment. Marin Poll Bullet 166:112215

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chandra R, Bharagava RN, Yadav S, Mohan D (2009) Accumulation and distribution of toxic metals in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and Indian mustard (Brassica campestris L.) irrigated with distillery and tannery effluents. J Hazard Mater 162:1514–1521. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2008.06.040

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Danwanichakul P, Dechojarasrri D, Meesumrit S, Swangwareesakul S (2008) Influence of sulfur-crosslinking in vulcanized rubber chips on mercury (II) removal from contaminated water. J Hazard Mater 154:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2007.09.093

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • El Haouti R, Anfar Z, Et-Taleb S, Benafqir M, Lhanafi S, El Alem N (2018) Removal of heavy metals and organic pollutants by a sand rich in iron oxide. Euro-Medit J Environ Integ 3(1):1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-018-0058-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eslamian SS, Khaleghi M (2013) Investigation of the performance of sand filter incorporating tire chips as cover in subsurface drainage system. JWSS-Isfahan Univ Technol 16:193–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Fito J, Van Hulle SW (2020) Wastewater reclamation and reuse potentials in agriculture: towards environmental sustainability. Environ Dev Sustain 23:2949–2972. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00732-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gatta G, Libutti A, Beneduce L, Gagliardi A, Disciglio G, Lonigro A, Tarantino E (2016) Reuse of treated municipal wastewater for globe artichoke irrigation: assessment of effects on morpho-quantitative parameters and microbial safety of yield. Sci Hortic 213:55–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giannakoudakis DA, Hosseini-Bandegharaei A, Tsafrakidou P, Triantafyllidis KS, Kornaros M, Anastopoulos I (2018) Aloe vera waste biomass-based adsorbents for the removal of aquatic pollutants: a review. J Environ Manag 227:354–364

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guest RM, Schang C, Deletic A, McCarthy DT (2012) Zinc-sulphate-heptahydrate coated activated carbon for microbe removal from storm water. Water Sci Technol 66:1582–1589. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2012.342

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hatt BE, Fletche TD, Deletic A (2008) Hydraulic and pollutant removal performance of fine media storm water filtration systems. Environ Sci Technol 42:535–2541. https://doi.org/10.1021/es071264p

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Iqbal S, Inam A, Akhtar A, Tak HI (2013) Stimulation of growth, physiology and yield of Capsicum annuum L. cv. Pusa Jawala by integration of nitrogenous fertilizer and waste water. Int J Environ Sci 3:1726–1736. https://doi.org/10.6088/ijes.2013030500040

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar M, Gogoi A, Kumari D, Borah R, Das P, Mazumder P, Tyagi VK (2017) Review of perspective, problems, challenges, and future scenario of metal contamination in the urban environment. J Hazard Toxic Radioact Waste 21(4):1–16

  • Kumar V, Thakur RK, Kumar P (2019) Assessment of heavy metals uptake by cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) grown in integrated industrial effluent irrigated soils: a prediction modeling study. Sci Hortic 257:108682

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Manzoor J, Sharma M, Wani KA (2018) Heavy metals in vegetables and their impact on the nutrient quality of vegetables: a review. J Plant Nutr 41(13):1744–1763

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mohammadi AA, Zarei A, Esmaeilzadeh M, Taghavi M, Yousefi M, Yousefi Z, Sedighi F, Javan S (2020) Assessment of heavy metal pollution and human health risks assessment in soils around an industrial zone in Neyshabur, Iran. Biol Trace Elem Res 195(1):343–352. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-019-01816-1

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naz S, Anjum MA, Akhtar S (2016) Monitoring of growth, yield, biomass and heavy metals accumulation in spinach grown under different irrigation sources. Int J Agric Biol 18:689–697

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naz S, Anjum MA, Haider STA (2019) Effect of different irrigation sources on growth, yield and heavy metals accumulation in tomato and okra. J Hortic Sci Technol 2:10–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naz S, Anjum MA, Siddique B, Naqvi SAH, Sajid A, Sardar H, Khan Z (2020) Effect of sewage water irrigation frequency on growth, yield and heavy metals accumulation of tomato and okra. Pak J Agric Res 33(4):798–809

    Google Scholar 

  • Özyazıcı MA (2013) Effects of sewage sludge on the yield of plants in the rotation system of wheat-white head cabbage-tomato. Eur J Soil Sci 2:35–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedrero F, Grattan SR, Ben-Gal A, Vivaldi GA (2020) Opportunities for expanding the use of wastewaters for irrigation of olives. Agric Water Manag 241:106333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perez-Espinosa A, Moreno-Caselles J, Moral R, Perez-Murcia MD, Gomez I (1999) Effect of sewage sludge and cobalt treatments on tomato fruit yield of certain vegetables. J Plant Nutr 22:379–385. https://doi.org/10.1080/01904169909365635

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reddy KR, Xie T, Dastgheibi S (2014) Removal of heavy metals from urban stormwater using different filter materials. J Chem Environ Eng 2:282–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2013.12.020

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sajjadi B, Shrestha RM, Chen WY, Mattern DL, Hammer N, Raman V, Dorris A (2021) Double-layer magnetized/functionalized biochar composite: role of microporous structure for heavy metal removals. J Water Process Eng 39:101677. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2020.101677

  • Sall ML, Diaw AKD, Gningue-Sall D, Efremova Aaron S, Aaron JJ (2020) Toxic heavy metals: impact on the environment and human health, and treatment with conducting organic polymers, a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:29927–29942

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Satarug S, Nishijo M, Ujjin P, Vanavanitkun Y, Moore MR (2005) Cadmium-induced nephropathy in the development of high blood pressure. Toxicol Lett 157:57–68

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shaheen N, Irfan NM, Khan IN, Islam S, Islam MS, Ahmed MK (2016) Presence of heavy metals in fruits and vegetables: health risk implications in Bangladesh. Chemosphere 152:431–438

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Singh J (2013) Determination of DTPA extractable heavy metals from sewage irrigated fields and plants. J Integr Sci Technol 1:36–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh G, Bhati M (2004) Soil and plant mineral composition and productivity of Acacia nilotica (L.) under irrigation with municipal effluent in an arid environment. Environ Conserv 31:331–338. https://doi.org/10.1017/S037689290400178X

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thapliyal A, Vasudevan P, Dastidar MG, Tandon M, Mishra S (2011) Irrigation with domestic waste water: responses on growth and yield of ladyfinger (Abelmoschus esculentus) and on soil nutrients. J Environ Biol 32:645–651

    Google Scholar 

  • Utami SNH, Hidayati K, Attaqy R (2012) The influence of treated waste water and manure on iron uptake and growth of caisim in entisol. J Res Manag 3:37–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Wei J, Gao J, Cen K (2019) Levels of eight heavy metals and health risk assessment considering food consumption by China’ s residents based on the 5th China total diet study. Sci Total Environ 689:1141–1148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.502

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng S, Wang Q, Yuan Y, Sun W (2020) Human health risk assessment of heavy metals in soil and food crops in the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration of China. Food Chem 316:126213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126213

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

Higher Education Commission of Pakistan

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticulture, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, Pakistan

    Safina Naz, Muhammad Akbar Anjum, Shaghef Ejaz, Sajid Ali, Hasan Sardar & Sakeena Tul-Ain Haider

  2. Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, 63100, Pakistan

    Bushra Saddiq

Authors
  1. Safina Naz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Muhammad Akbar Anjum
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shaghef Ejaz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sajid Ali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Bushra Saddiq
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Hasan Sardar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Sakeena Tul-Ain Haider
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

S. Naz conducted the experiment and interpreted data. M. A. Anjum designed the experiment and supervised work. S. Ejaz and S. Ali were involved in statistical analysis, writing the review, and editing the manuscript. B. Saddiq, H. Sardar, and S. T. A. Haider contributed to the conduct of the experiment and manuscript writing. All authors read and approved the final draft of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Safina Naz.

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval

Not applicable

Consent to participate

Not applicable

Consent for publication

Not applicable

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Naz, S., Anjum, M.A., Ejaz, S. et al. Sewage wastewater reclamation with sand column filter and reduction of heavy metal accumulation in tomato and okra. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 45962–45970 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13976-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13976-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation