Brown Seaweeds (Sargassum macrocarpum) as Nitrate (NO3) Reducer

Abstract

This study entitled, BROWN SEAWEEDS (Sargassum macrocarpum) AS NITRATE (NO₃) REDUCER  was conducted to find out if brown seaweeds can help lessen the nitrate content of contaminated water particularly water used in rice field irrigation. After the brown seaweeds were gathered, and the contaminated water from the river used in rice field irrigation was collected, treatments for experimentation were prepared. There were four treatments used: Treatments A, B, C, and D (control). One thousand (1000) mL of contaminated water was placed in each of the containers of all the treatments. After then 50 grams of brown seaweeds were placed in A, 100 g in B, 150 g in C and no seaweed for D. The treatments were observed for nine (9) days and its nitrate (NO₃) content tested every three days. The tests were done in the Water Laboratory of the National Power Corporation, Calaca, Batangas using the Spectrophotometer. Results showed that Treatment C with the greatest amount of seaweeds eliminated more nitrate than the other treatments based on the statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA). It is therefore concluded that brown seaweeds (Sargassum macrocarpum) have the ability and the efficacy of reducing the nitrate content of contaminated water.