Objectives: The objective of this work was to develop a new pretreatment method to remediate processed cheese wastewater using calcium nanoparticles (CaNPs) synthesized from Senna auriculata L. flower extract. Methods: Processed cheese effluent was collected from a typical dairy factory and characterized the physical and chemical features such as color, odor, pH, total solids, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The effluent was subjected to treatment using (CaNPs) synthesized from S. auriculata L. flower extract as a reducing agent. The NPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transformation spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Results: The crystalline nature of the synthesized CaNPs was found to be amorphous with a grain sizes 56 nm. The characterization studies confirmed the formation of CaNPs. The optimal dosage of NPs was 0.08 g, which reduced TDS and COD in the effluent by 73% and 82% respectively, within 2 h. The outcome of the investigation confirmed the reducing and stabilizing properties of from CaNPs synthesized from S. auriculata L plant flower extract and its effluent treatment efficiency. Conclusions: The results revealed that the treatment of processed cheese wastewater can be effective with the application of enhanced CaNPs. It can be also suggested as an eco-friendly material for wastewater remediation. Senna auriculata L plant flower extract is a good source for CaNPs synthesis, adopting eco-friendly methods. In future, biologically synthesized nanomaterials would be an extremely promising solution for food industry wastewater treatment.
Full Text Finder