Physicochemical Evaluation and Ecological Implications of Industrial Effluents from Food Processing Industries in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Uzoefuna Chima Casmir1; Ebuoh Maryann Chiamaka2 and Nwokedi Anslem Kenechukwu3

1,3Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, State University of Medical and Applied Sciences, Igbo-Eno, Enugu State, Nigeria.

2Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, State University of Medical and Applied Sciences, Igbo-Eno, Enugu State, Nigeria.

Corresponding author: Ebuoh Maryann Chiamaka; Email: maryann.ebuoh@sumas.edu.ng; Tel: +2348149560255

                                                                               Abstract
Industrial effluents remain a practical but often under-managed threat to surface water quality, especially in fast-growing urban and industrial centres. This study assessed the physicochemical quality of normal water, untreated effluents and treated effluents from two food-processing industries in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Sixty juvenile Clarias gariepinus were obtained from the African Regional Aquaculture Research Centre, University of Port Harcourt, acclimatised for three days and assigned to six exposure groups for two weeks. The measured variables included pH, temperature, conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, turbidity, nitrate, nitrite, sulphate, phosphate, total nitrogen, ammonia, chloride, total chlorine, hardness and oil and grease. Data were analysed with IBM SPSS version 21, and statistical significance was accepted at p < 0.05. The results showed clear differences between control water and effluent samples. Untreated effluents generally had higher organic load, suspended solids and nutrient concentrations, while treatment reduced several pollutants but did not fully normalise all parameters. Dufil Prima effluents showed marked increases in conductivity, dissolved solids, salinity, chloride, phosphate, TSS and turbidity, whereas MacCannon samples were more acidic, with untreated effluent showing low dissolved oxygen and elevated phosphate. In my view, the most concerning pattern is not a single extreme value but the persistence of nutrients, particulate matter and residual organic contamination after treatment. These findings suggest that the current treatment systems offer partial protection, yet still require optimisation, tighter operational control and routine independent monitoring before discharge into receiving environments.

Keywords: industrial effluents; physicochemical parameters; wastewater treatment; food-processing industries; aquatic ecology; Port Harcourt.

CITE AS: Uzoefuna Chima Casmir; Ebuoh Maryann Chiamaka and Nwokedi Anslem Kenechukwu (2026). Physicochemical Evaluation and Ecological Implications of Industrial Effluents from Food Processing Industries in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. INOSR APPLIED SCIENCES 14(3):55-62.
https://doi.org/10.59298/INOSRAS/2026/14.3.5562000