Mathematical analysis of brewery effluent distribution in Ikpoba River in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

A fundamental study was carried out in a lotic ecosystem loaded with brewery effluent and other oxygen-demanding wastes from non-point sources to ascertain the pollutant level and its potential hazardousness to aquatic live and human health in the environment studied. Samples of waste water and river water which were taken at predetermined points, on different days, in the neighbourhood of the point source, were subjected to laboratory chemical analysis to determine the concentration of effluent parameters namely: BOD, COD, DO, and pH. Differential calculus and statistical models adapted for the analysis proved to be successful in predicting the contaminant distribution in the river thereby making the research result relevant for surface water pollution control.

Keywords: Brewery effluent, pollutants, lotic ecosystem, water pollution, river, oxygen-sag-curve