Recycling and treatment of herbal pharmaceutical wastewater using Scenedesmus quadricuada

Globally, herbal pharmaceutical industries are among the leading pharmaceutical industries. They generate large volume of wastewater during processing and production, which is highly biodegradable in nature and cannot be discharged into environment as such. Hence efforts are being made to evaluate the toxicity of herbal pharmaceutical effluents using green algae Scenedesmus quadricauda. Physico-chemically treated effluents (PCTEs) as well as biologically treated effluents (BTEs) were observed after the application of S. quadricauda. Also, S. quadricauda showed higher growth rate after the addition of PCTE and BTE. The highest yield of algae was observed in BTE up to 15 days of incubation by synthesis of chlorophyll and cell metabolites, even with 10–100% dilution of effluents. The present study also discusses the evaluation of biotoxicity and recycling on herbal pharmaceutical wastewater along with heavy metal removal.