Levels of cadmium, manganese and lead in water and algae; Spirogyra aequinoctialis

Kaonga, Chikumbusko Chiziwa; Chiotha, Sosten; Monjerezi, Maurice; Fabiano, E.; Henry, E. M. T.

doi:10.1007/bf03326043

Cited by 18 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…These streams pass through industrial areas and also they are frequent recipients of raw sewage by virtue of broken sewer lines apart from farming activities taking place along their banks. The data show that Cd levels (0.07 to 0.111 mg/L) reported by Kaonga et al (2008) were higher than those reported elsewhere. However, Mn (n.d-0.626 mg/L) and Pb (0.011 to 0.23 mg/L) concentrations found in the same study were within the range of similar environments reported elsewhere.…”

Section: Heavy Metal Analysis Methodscontrasting

confidence: 70%

“…Another study done in Malawi by Chidya et al (2011) on Likangala River, Zomba City reported maximum concentrations of Cd (0.05 mg/L) and Pb (0.71 mg/L) to be higher than those from other countries. However the values found for these analytes were lower than those found in Blantyre City as reported by Kaonga et al (2008) and Kaonga et al (2012). This is due to the fact that Blantyre City is a commercial and industrial capital of Malawi hence more activities which could lead to stream pollution.…”

Section: Heavy Metal Analysis Methodscontrasting

confidence: 64%

“…Table 2 show results of heavy metal studies conducted in Malawi and worldwide. In Malawi, Kaonga et al (2008) assessed Cd, Mn and Pb in Blantyre City streams. These streams pass through industrial areas and also they are frequent recipients of raw sewage by virtue of broken sewer lines apart from farming activities taking place along their banks.…”

Section: Heavy Metal Analysis Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other studies on heavy metals in Malawi Kaonga et al (2008) studied Cd, Mn and Pb in algae, Spirogyra aequinoctialis in Blantyre City streams, Malawi. The maximum reported concentrations were: 0.91 mg/kg dw Cd, 16.13 mg/kg dw Mn and 0.97 mg/kg dw Pb.…”

Section: Heavy Metal Studies In Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of heavy metals in soil and aquatic systems of urban and semi-urban areas in Malawi with comparisons to other selected countries

Kaonga¹,

Kosamu²,

Lakudzala³

et al. 2017

Afr. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Growth of cities in developing countries comes with increasing transportation and industrial activities which may contribute to accumulation of heavy metals in the environment. This paper provides a review of studies on heavy metals in Malawi`s environment, their potential environmental impacts and possible removal methods with comparisons to other selected countries. The reviewed data from Malawi showed that in water samples, heavy metal concentrations were higher than World Health Organisation (WHO) and Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) safe limits especially in streams passing through industrial sites. Reports of heavy metals (especially Cu, Mn and Zn) showed that in industrial effluents, the individual levels of each of them were at least 6 times higher as compared to those in surface water bodies. In rivers there was accumulation of heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Cr, Fe, Mn, Pb, Ni and Zn) by algae whereby bioconcentration factors (BCF) ranged from 1.0 to 42 in some of the studies. Generally, metal levels in soils and selected organisms were much higher than those in water samples which further confirm possible accumulation. Since some aquatic organisms are consumed by humans, there is potential for the heavy metals to cause cancer and kidney damage. The studies done in Malawi compared well to those conducted elsewhere. The degradation of water resources by heavy metals compromises sustainability of water bodies and vital aquatic ecosystems hence negatively impacting on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) efforts. This calls for periodic heavy metal monitoring and identifying ways of reducing their release into the environment.

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Section: Heavy Metal Analysis Methodscontrasting

confidence: 70%

Section: Heavy Metal Analysis Methodscontrasting

confidence: 64%

Section: Heavy Metal Analysis Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Heavy Metal Studies In Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A review of heavy metals in soil and aquatic systems of urban and semi-urban areas in Malawi with comparisons to other selected countries

Kaonga¹,

Kosamu²,

Lakudzala³

et al. 2017

Afr. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The objective of these studies was to assess the possibility to use algae biomass, eg in water fitoremediation [1][2][3][4], sewage treatment processes [5,6] and in surface waters contamination biomonitoring [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Preparation Method of Spirogyra Sp. Algae on their Sorption Capacity

Rajfur¹

2013

Ecological Chemistry and Engineering S

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Abstract:The influence of the preparation method of samples on the zinc ions sorption parameters in Spirogyra sp. algae was analysed. The Zn 2+ sorption process from the salt solutions of this analyte was carried out in static conditions. The carried out analyses results show that the method of algae samples preparation for analyses (thermal drying, freeze drying, samples conditioning in demineralised water) and storage period influence their sorption capacity. On the basis of the carried out research of the metal sorption kinetics in live and prepared algae samples, it was found that the equilibrium is achieved after approximately 30 min. In the experiment conditions, 56% of metals are sorbed in live algae during the first 15 min. Approximately 17 and 65% of zinc ions present in the dilution accumulated in thermally dried and freeze dried algae samples respectively after 30 min of the process. It was confirmed that conditioning of the algae samples in demineralised water, prior to the sorption process, increases its efficiency. In order to define sorption capacity of freeze dried Spirogyra sp. algae, the Langmuir isotherm model was applied. It was found out that algae absorb heavy metals in proportion to their content in a solution, in which they were immersed. The sorption capacity of freeze dried Spirogyra sp. algae and zinc, defined with the use of the Langmuir isotherm, shows considerable imprecise result. Evident influence of hydrogen cations on zinc concentrations in algae and in the solution in the state of equilibrium was found out.

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Accumulation of lead, cadmium, manganese, copper and zinc by sludge worms; Tubifex tubifex in sewage sludge

Kaonga

Kumwenda

Mapoma

2009

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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ABSTRACT:Tubifex tubifex has been shown to survive in organic polluted environments, however, not much has been done on its inorganic pollution tolerance. Samples of T. tubifex and their respective sewage sludge were taken from Soche wastewater treatment plant in Blantyre City, Malawi during July 2007 to November 2008. The total number of sludge samples taken was fifty one which was made into seventeen composite samples. A total of seventeen T. Tubifex samples were also collected. The samples were analyzed for copper, lead, manganese, zinc and cadmium using standard methods from American Public Health Association and Association of Official Analytical Chemists. The concentrations of metals in sewage sludge and T. tubifex were on dry weight basis and the metals determined were acid extractable. In general, heavy metals concentration was lower in T. tubifex than in sewage sludge. The range of heavy metals concentrations were (in sludge and (T. tubifex)): zinc 275.3 -361.5 mg/kg (45.0 -82.2 mg/kg), manganese 293.7 -230.1 mg/kg (1.21 -3.69 mg/kg), copper 86.5 -120.1 mg/kg (1.6 -4.7 mg/kg), lead 11.2 -22.4 mg/kg (Below detection limit -0.95 ) and cadmium 1.12 -2.31 mg/kg (1.08 -2.18 mg/kg). The results showed significant differences between the concentrations of manganese, copper, lead and zinc in sewage sludge and T. tubifex (p < 0.05). However there was no significant difference between the concentrations of cadmium in sewage sludge and T. tubifex (p > 0.05). T. tubifex did not show the ability to accumulate heavy metals (attributed to its high defecation and metabolic rate) except for cadmium hence cannot be used as a bioindicator for heavy metal pollution in sludge.

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Levels of cadmium, manganese and lead in water and algae; Spirogyra aequinoctialis

Cited by 18 publications

References 10 publications

A review of heavy metals in soil and aquatic systems of urban and semi-urban areas in Malawi with comparisons to other selected countries

A review of heavy metals in soil and aquatic systems of urban and semi-urban areas in Malawi with comparisons to other selected countries

Influence of Preparation Method of Spirogyra Sp. Algae on their Sorption Capacity

Accumulation of lead, cadmium, manganese, copper and zinc by sludge worms; Tubifex tubifex in sewage sludge

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