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eISSN: 2083-5906
ISSN: 1230-1485
ISSN: 1230-1485
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Utilization of Indigenous Industrial Microalgal
Consortia for Ciprofloxacin and Nitrate
Removal from Pharmaceutical Wastewater
1
Institute of Environmental Engineering & Management, Mehran University of Engineering &Technology, Jamshoro,
Sindh 76062, Pakistan
2
Department of Energy & Environment Engineering, Dawood University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi,
Sindh 74800, Pakistan
3
U.S. Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water, Mehran University of Engineering &Technology, Jamshoro,
Sindh 76062, Pakistan
4
Department of Global Smart City, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon-Si, Republic of Korea
Submission date: 2025-04-28
Final revision date: 2025-06-17
Acceptance date: 2025-07-31
Online publication date: 2025-11-18
Corresponding author
Ghulam Mujtaba
Department of Energy & Environment Engineering, Dawood University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi, Sindh 74800, Pakistan
Department of Energy & Environment Engineering, Dawood University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi, Sindh 74800, Pakistan
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
This study explores the bioremediation potential of indigenous industrial microalgal consortia for the
simultaneous removal of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and nitrate from high-strength pharmaceutical wastewater.
Native microalgae were isolated from effluent sources and cultivated in batch reactors for eight days
under three conditions: pharmaceutical wastewater (WW), distilled water (DW), and nitrate-rich BG-11
medium. Remarkably, CIP removal reached 85% in WW, 70% in DW, and 57% in BG-11, demonstrating
the consortia’s adaptability across different environments. In the BG-11 system, microalgae achieved
78% nitrate removal. However, elevated nitrate levels initially delayed CIP degradation, suggesting
competitive interaction during uptake and metabolic processing. These findings reveal that native
microalgal consortia can efficiently reduce pharmaceutical pollutants and nutrient loads without the need
for genetic modification or external additives. This low-cost, eco-friendly approach offers promising
prospects for integrating microalgae into tertiary treatment systems for pharmaceutical effluents,
contributing to sustainable wastewater management and environmental protection.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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| ISSN: | 1230-1485 |
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