ECOTOXICITY ASSESSMENT OF ALLIUM CEPA IN A WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM CONTAMINATED WITH BTEX

Abstract

This study investigated the removal of BTEX compounds from water using a compact device consisting of vacuum suction and an adsorption system with activated carbon and rice husk ash. These were followed by ecotoxicity tests that assessed the root length of Allium cepa, considering the raw sample at 100% (BTEX100) and the 50% (BTEX50) and 25% (BTEX25) dilutions. Samples were collected at the following points: A1 – suction well; A2 – vacuum system; A3 – adsorption filter. Three trials were conducted with a total duration of 240 minutes, with sampling at monitoring times of 0 minutes (T0), 120 minutes (T120), and 240 minutes (T240). The results showed removal efficiencies greater than 99% of the concentrations of the compounds studied using the compact device. This decrease is mainly attributed to the vacuum suction process. However, the ecotoxicity tests indicated the need for the adsorption step to reduce the toxicity of the treated water.