Application of Aquatic Plants for the Treatment of Selenium-Rich Mining Wastewater and Production of Renewable Fuels and Petrochemicals

Abstract

Aquatic plants aggressively colonising wetlands are widely used for the biosorption of the soluble contaminants from wastewater and represent an attractive feedstock for biofuel production. Three common Australian aquatic plants, duckweed (Landoltia punctata), elodea, (Elodea canadensis) and water clover (Marsilea quadrifolia), colonizing different depths of wetlands were tested for their ability to treat the selenium-rich mining wastewater and for their potential for production of petrochemicals. The results showed that these plants could be effective at biofiltration of selenium and heavy metals from mining wastewater accumulating them in their fast growing biomass. Along with production of bio-gas and bio-solid components, pyrolysis of these plants produced a range of liquid petrochemicals including straight-chain C14-C20 alkanes, which can be directly used as a diesel fuel supplement or as a glycerine-free component of biodiesel. Other identified bio-oil components can be converted into petrochemicals using existing techniques such as catalytic hydrodeoxygenation. A dual application of aquatic plants for wastewater treatment and production of value-added chemicals offers an ecologically friendly and cost-effective solution for water pollution problems and renewable energy production.

Phytoremediation of Selenium-Impacted Water by Aquatic Macrophytes

“…Results indicate DWD primarily phytoaccumulates Se in plant tissue with a small portion possibly lost through phytovolatilization. These results agree with previous studies evaluating Se accumulation in DWD (Zayed et al, 1998;Carvalho and Martin, 2001;Miranda et al, 2014). Cattail and MG Se volatilization is well documented under both laboratory and field conditions (Hansen et al, 1998;Pilon-Smits et al, 1999;Lin et al, 2002).…”

“…Literature indicates DWD has the ability to remove 55 to 99% of applied Se (Zayed et al, 1998;Carvalho and Martin, 2001;Miranda et al, 2014). Muskgrass (Chara sp.…”

Removal of Heavy Metals from Aquatic Environments Using Water Hyacinth and Water Lettuce

“…In the early 80s, the idea of using plants to remove the accumulation of heavy metals and other compounds has been launched, phytoremediation being considered as a very promising process for the removal of both the organic and inorganic pollutants [15][16][17][18]. Connected to this, aquatic plants have the ability to metabolize and remove efficiently different pollutants from various aquatic environments, the primary objective in the process of water treatment being to remove or reduce pollutants to a level that does not cause any negative effects on the environment and on humans.…”

Uso sustentável de macrófitas no tratamento de efluentes: uma revisão sistemática

“…Segundo Cheng & Stomp (2009), as espécies Spirodela punctata, Lemna gibba, Lemna minor apresentam elevado teor protéico, indicando o reuso da biomassa em ração para animais, além de que é considerada uma fonte de matéria-prima para a produção de amido e combustível, como etanol. Miranda et al (2014) utilizaram as espécies Landoltia punctata, Elodea canadensis e Marsilea quadrifolia em seu estudo e afirmaram que, além de poderem ser utilizadas na produção de biogás e componentes biosólidos, a pirólise dessas plantas gerou inúmeros petroquímicos no estado líquido, incluindo alcanos que podem ser utilizados na produção de diesel ou como um componente do biodiesel. Muradov et al (2014) compararam a biomassa resultante de três espécies: Lemna sp., Azolla green e Azolla red.…”