Phytoaccumulation of Trace Elements by Wetland Plants: II. Water Hyacinth

Abstract

Wetland plants are being used successfully for the phytoremediation of trace elements in natural and constructed wetlands. This study demonstrates the potential of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), an aquatic floating plant, for the phytoremediation of six trace elements. The ability of water hyacinth to take up and translocate six trace elements—As(V), Cd(II), Cr(VI), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Se(VI)—was studied under controlled conditions. Water hyacinth accumulated Cd and Cr best, Se and Cu at moderate levels, and was a poor accumulator of As and Ni. The highest levels of Cd found in shoots and roots were 371 and 6103 mg kg−1 dry wt., respectively, and those of Cr were 119 and 3951 mg kg−1 dry wt., respectively. Cadmium, Cr, Cu, Ni, and As were more highly accumulated in roots than in shoots. In contrast, Se was accumulated more in shoots than in roots at most external concentrations. Water hyacinth had high trace element bioconcentration factors when supplied with low external concentrations of all six elements, particularly Cd (highest BCF = 2150), Cr (1823), and Cu (595). Therefore, water hyacinth will be very efficient at phytoextracting trace elements from wastewater containing low concentrations of these elements. We conclude that water hyacinth is a promising candidate for phytoremediation of wastewater polluted with Cd, Cr, Cu, and Se.

Vegetable species for phytoextraction of boron, copper, lead, manganese and zinc from contaminated soil

“…The bioconcentration index (BI) is also considered effective in the evaluation of the plant specie's element accumulation potential and its ability to absorb selectively elements form the soil solution (Zhu et al, 1999). The highest BI values for Zn, Cu and Mn were obtained with amaranth while Kenaf showed the highest values for Pb and B (Table 3).…”

Achieving Environmental Sustainability in Wastewater Treatment by Phytoremediation with Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes)

“…BCF values over 1000 are generally considered evidence of a useful plant for phytoremediation (Zhu et al, 1999). The BCF value for cadmium was above 1000, indicating that water hyacinth is a good accumulator of this metal.…”

Cd-tolerance markers of Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng.) Pedersen plants: anatomical and physiological features

“…Cd transport between plant tissues was verified by the primary transport index (PTI) calculated as the ratio of its concentration in the shoots and roots (Moral et al, 1994). In order to study Cd uptake and bioconcentration behavior, the following indices were used: bioconcentration factor (BCF), calculated by dividing the Cd-concentration in plant tissues (ppm) at harvest by the metal one (mg g -1 of dry weight -DW) in the solution (Sharma and Agrawal, 2006); total accumulation rate -TAR (mg plant -1 d -1 ) was determined following Zhu et al (1999), and Cd uptake (mg plant -1 d -1 ) following Sharma and Agrawal, (2006). TAR and total Cd uptake were calculated using the following formulas:…”