Phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soil by Chrysopogon zizanioides L

Abstract

The electroplating industry is one of the industries producing various kinds of pollutant waste. One of the pollutants is Copper (Cu). It can cause environmental problems such as soil pollution that endanger microorganisms and other living beings and shift its ecological balance. Phytoremediation is a way to improve polluted land by using plants. This study aimed to investigate the reduction of Cu after the treatment of vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides (L.) Roberty). Plants were grown on contaminated soil for 28 days (absorption condition), then transferred to the soil without contamination and allowed to live for 28 days (elimination condition). In this study, the concentration of Cu heavy metal was analyzed in plants using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Phytoremediation potential was evaluated through absorption rate, elimination rate, along with Bioconcentration Factor (BCF), Biological Absorption Coefficient (BAC), and Translocation Factor (TF). The results showed that C. zizanioides could absorb Cu with the highest absorption rate of 1.45 mg.kg−1.d−1 and the highest elimination rate of 0.36 mg.kg−1.d−1. The absorption rate tends to be higher than the elimination rate. In this case, C. zizanioides can be used as an alternative for phytoremediation of Cu contaminated soil in the lightly to heavily polluted category.