Detoxification of glucose, ammonium and formaldehyde using nitrification and plant processes

The purpose of this study was to obtain the removal efficiency values from glucose, ammonium and formaldehyde based on toxicity units. The nitrification process is applied using nitrifying bacteria and the process of plants using water hyacinth. The toxicity tests used were bacterial respiration test and test with batch reactor system for plants. The results show that the EC50 value of formaldehyde was smaller than ammonium and glucose. Formaldehyde was the most toxic substance among these substances, but its detoxification efficiency was high; this may be due to an antagonistic effect (from toxic to less toxic) mixture of substances.