Effectiveness of external agents in polluted sedimentary area

Abstract

Sediment is a useful natural source but deteriorated continually by anthropogenic and industrial sources. Therefore, it is imperative to search a suitable method for improving or restoring sediment quality. Sediment has been tested to identify the effects of some external agents on a polluted area for 28 days. Chemical analysis and total viable counts (TVC) test have been conducted for 4 days interval to assess their performance. The analyses of chemical oxygen demand (COD), acid volatile sulfide (AVS), total phosphorous (T-P), total nitrogen (T-N) indicate that the chemical agents was more efficient to improve sediment quality whereas the microbial agent was more efficient for nutrient releasing from sediment. Oxygen releasing property of the chemical agent was thought to be providing with more congenial environment for the higher growth of the bacterial community than the direct application of microbial agents.