Assessments of Coal-Based Thermal Power Plant Effluents affect Physicochemical Factors of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River, West Bengal

Author: Sanjoy Das and Ashis Kumar Panigrahi

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Abstract

The most significant waterway in West Bengal, India, is the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River, but its water quality has been declined as a result of numerous anthropogenic activities. The purpose of this research is to assess the effects of Sagardighi coal-based thermal power plant's effluents on the physicochemical components of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River. Study was conducted from January to December 2019, water were collected from three different locations upstream (denoted as Site 1), Main spot (Site 2) and downstream (Site 3) of the river to assess water quality changes, due to Sagardighi thermal power plant released waste water into the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River. Standard protocol from American Public Health Association, APHA (1995) used to measured temperature, pH, dissolve oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), hardness, nitrate, and phosphate. Water required for cooling the turbine resulting warm water or not properly treating waste water released into the river system, rise in water temperature and enrichment in nutrients like nitrate and phosphate resulting eutrophication at site 2 region, decrease in DO during summer season in all sites and particularly in site 2 region low DO level observed. BOD and COD increased in site 2 due high in organic and inorganic pollutant load into the river bed. Calcium and magnesium ions enhance the hardness of site2 and site 3. Findings from this research show that sites 2 and 3 show alterations in physiochemical factors rather than site 1, which affect the aquatic ecosystem's health. Drainage system from coal-based thermal power plants emphasizes the need for efficient wastewater treatment and pollution control to protect water supplies and ecosystem.

Keywords

Bhagirathi-Hooghly River, Coal-based thermal power plant, effluents, physicochemical parameters, eutrophication

Conclusion

The Ganga River or Bhagirathi-Hooghly River seems to be dying slowly because millions of tons of untreated domestic and industrial waste water flows into the river daily. The Ganga River or Bhagirathi-Hooghly suffers from myriad problems, the lean flow during dry season is one of the most significant factor (Kumar et al., 2015). All waste contaminants, including agricultural runoff, domestic and municipal sewage, and industrial effluents, are deposited into the riverbed because it serves as the primary drainage route, raising the organic and mineral burden and resulting in higher BOD and COD by reducing DO. Water microbes and algae thrived due to nitrate and phosphate enrichment, resulting in eutrophication. Water is needed to chill the power plant machine, so when the water came out of the machine, it became heated, and this not properly handled hot water was sometimes dumped into the river, reducing the dissolve oxygen and slightly increasing the water temperature. Because of the increased pollution burden of river banks, waste water may contain some metals and heavy metals that increase hardness and reduce pH level, which is not appropriate for the survival of aquatic ecosystems. As a consequence, aquatic creatures, particularly plankton and fish, endure, and their variety is diminished, influencing the economy tangentially. Before discharging raw waste water into the waterway system, appropriate cleaning and monitoring were required.

References

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How to cite this article

Sanjoy Das and Ashis Kumar Panigrahi (2023). Assessments of Coal-Based Thermal Power Plant Effluents affect Physicochemical Factors of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River, West Bengal. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(3): 169-175.