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. 2023 Aug 25;12(17):3058.
doi: 10.3390/plants12173058.

Efficacy of Biogenic Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles in Treating Wastewater for Sustainable Wheat Cultivation

Irfan Haidri  1 , Muhammad Shahid  2 , Sabir Hussain  1 , Tanvir Shahzad  1 , Faisal Mahmood  1 , Muhammad Umair Hassan  3 , Jameel Mohammed Al-Khayri  4 , Mohammed Ibrahim Aldaej  4 , Muhammad Naeem Sattar  5 , Adel Abdel-Sabour Rezk  4   6 , Mustafa Ibrahim Almaghasla  7   8 , Wael Fathi Shehata  4   9
Affiliations

Efficacy of Biogenic Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles in Treating Wastewater for Sustainable Wheat Cultivation

Irfan Haidri et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Water scarcity due to overuse and growing water pollution has led to the need for upgrading of conventional methods of wastewater treatment. The biological synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) and their photocatalytic capacity to degrade contaminants offer a promising and environment-friendly approach to municipal wastewater treatment. This technique is advantageous due to its cost-effectiveness, sustainability, and reduction in toxic residual substances. In this study, microbial-synthesized ZnO-NPs were used for the treatment of municipal wastewater. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of treated wastewater for wheat crop cultivation. Zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized from a pre-isolated bacterial strain, namely Shewanela sp., and characterized using UV-VIS, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses. The results showed that after the treatment of wastewater, the concentration of total dissolve solids (TDS), the chemical oxygen demand (COD), and sulfate and phosphate levels decreased by 76.5%, 57.1%, 81.1%, and 67.4%, respectively. However, the application of treated wastewater increased chlorophyll, carotenoids, and antioxidants by 45%, 40.8%, and 10.5 to 30.6%, respectively. Further, the application of treated wastewater also significantly decreased oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) by 8.1% and 30.1%, respectively. In conclusion, biosynthesized ZnO-NPs could be an important choice to treat municipal wastewater and to improve wheat productivity.

Keywords: antioxidants; microbial synthesis; municipal wastewater; oxidative stress; photocatalytic degradation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Characterization of ZnO-NPs: UV–VIS spectroscopy (A), XRD (B), FTIR (C), and SEM (D).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of ZnO-NP-treated wastewater, untreated wastewater, and distilled water on the germination rate of wheat noticed at days 3, 6, and 9. Data are means + SD (n = 3).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of treated wastewater, untreated wastewater, and distilled water on changes in the content of chlorophyll a (A), chlorophyll b (B), total chlorophyll (C), and carotenoids (D) of wheat. Data are means + SD (n = 3). Different small letters at different parameters indicate a significant difference between parameters at p < 0.05.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of treated wastewater, untreated wastewater, and distilled water on changes in the content of phenolics (A), APX (B), CAT (C), SOD (D), POD (E), MDA (F), and H2O2 (G) of wheat crop. Data are means + SD. Different small letters at different parameters indicate a significant difference between parameters at p < 0.05.
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