Evaluation of the Potential Toxicity of Effluents from the Textile Industry before and after Treatment
The textile industry has an important role in the economic development of several countries; however, it consumes large amounts of water and generates huge quantities of wastewater. These effluents are of great environmental concern due to their complex chemical content, known by their toxicity and...
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doaj-f6049b34226144a8b55408c83e52375f2020-11-24T23:52:11ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172019-09-01918380410.3390/app9183804app9183804Evaluation of the Potential Toxicity of Effluents from the Textile Industry before and after TreatmentAna Margarida Castro0Verónica Nogueira1Isabel Lopes2Teresa Rocha-Santos3Ruth Pereira4Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, PortugalDepartment of Biology and CIIMAR, Faculty of Science, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, PortugalDepartment of Biology and CESAM, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, PortugalDepartment of Chemistry and CESAM, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, PortugalDepartment of Biology and GreenUPorto, Faculty of Science, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, PortugalThe textile industry has an important role in the economic development of several countries; however, it consumes large amounts of water and generates huge quantities of wastewater. These effluents are of great environmental concern due to their complex chemical content, known by their toxicity and low biodegradability, which can cause harmful effects to the aquatic environment. In the present study, bioassays with aquatic species were employed to evaluate the toxicity of effluent samples collected before and after the treatments performed by the textile company. The toxic effects were investigated using four organisms, namely <i>Aliivibrio fischeri</i>, <i>Raphidocelis subcapitata</i>, <i>Daphnia magna</i> and <i>Lemna minor</i>, to represent different trophic levels. The ecotoxicological data confirmed that the raw textile effluent was very toxic, with <i>A. fischeri</i> being the most sensitive organism. While the toxicity of the effluent collected after the treatment performed by the textile company was clearly reduced, we still recorded sublethal toxicity to <i>D. magna</i>. These results highlight the importance of the bioassays for continuous monitoring of the toxicity of the treated effluents to prevent adverse effects on the environment. Further, results suggest that ecotoxicological data should be required in parallel with chemical data to better evaluate the safety of environmental discharges of wastewaters.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/18/3804textile industryeffluent treatmenttoxicitybioassays |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Ana Margarida Castro Verónica Nogueira Isabel Lopes Teresa Rocha-Santos Ruth Pereira |
spellingShingle |
Ana Margarida Castro Verónica Nogueira Isabel Lopes Teresa Rocha-Santos Ruth Pereira Evaluation of the Potential Toxicity of Effluents from the Textile Industry before and after Treatment Applied Sciences textile industry effluent treatment toxicity bioassays |
author_facet |
Ana Margarida Castro Verónica Nogueira Isabel Lopes Teresa Rocha-Santos Ruth Pereira |
author_sort |
Ana Margarida Castro |
title |
Evaluation of the Potential Toxicity of Effluents from the Textile Industry before and after Treatment |
title_short |
Evaluation of the Potential Toxicity of Effluents from the Textile Industry before and after Treatment |
title_full |
Evaluation of the Potential Toxicity of Effluents from the Textile Industry before and after Treatment |
title_fullStr |
Evaluation of the Potential Toxicity of Effluents from the Textile Industry before and after Treatment |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evaluation of the Potential Toxicity of Effluents from the Textile Industry before and after Treatment |
title_sort |
evaluation of the potential toxicity of effluents from the textile industry before and after treatment |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Applied Sciences |
issn |
2076-3417 |
publishDate |
2019-09-01 |
description |
The textile industry has an important role in the economic development of several countries; however, it consumes large amounts of water and generates huge quantities of wastewater. These effluents are of great environmental concern due to their complex chemical content, known by their toxicity and low biodegradability, which can cause harmful effects to the aquatic environment. In the present study, bioassays with aquatic species were employed to evaluate the toxicity of effluent samples collected before and after the treatments performed by the textile company. The toxic effects were investigated using four organisms, namely <i>Aliivibrio fischeri</i>, <i>Raphidocelis subcapitata</i>, <i>Daphnia magna</i> and <i>Lemna minor</i>, to represent different trophic levels. The ecotoxicological data confirmed that the raw textile effluent was very toxic, with <i>A. fischeri</i> being the most sensitive organism. While the toxicity of the effluent collected after the treatment performed by the textile company was clearly reduced, we still recorded sublethal toxicity to <i>D. magna</i>. These results highlight the importance of the bioassays for continuous monitoring of the toxicity of the treated effluents to prevent adverse effects on the environment. Further, results suggest that ecotoxicological data should be required in parallel with chemical data to better evaluate the safety of environmental discharges of wastewaters. |
topic |
textile industry effluent treatment toxicity bioassays |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/18/3804 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT anamargaridacastro evaluationofthepotentialtoxicityofeffluentsfromthetextileindustrybeforeandaftertreatment AT veronicanogueira evaluationofthepotentialtoxicityofeffluentsfromthetextileindustrybeforeandaftertreatment AT isabellopes evaluationofthepotentialtoxicityofeffluentsfromthetextileindustrybeforeandaftertreatment AT teresarochasantos evaluationofthepotentialtoxicityofeffluentsfromthetextileindustrybeforeandaftertreatment AT ruthpereira evaluationofthepotentialtoxicityofeffluentsfromthetextileindustrybeforeandaftertreatment |
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