Suitability of Selected Plant Species for Phytoremediation: A Case Study of a Coal Combustion Ash Landfill

Abstract

Coal bottom and fly ash waste continue to be generated as a result of energy production from coal in the amount of about 750 million tonnes a year globally. Coal is the main source of energy in Poland, and about 338 million tonnes of combustion waste has already been landfilled. The aim of the research was to identify factors determining the Cd, Pb, Zn and Cu phytostabilisation by vegetation growing on a coal combustion waste landfill. Soil and shoots of the following plants were analysed: wood small-reed, European goldenrod, common reed; silver birch, black locust, European aspen and common oak. The influence of the location where the plants grew and the influence of the interaction between the two factors (species and location) were significant. The tree species were more effective at accumulating heavy metals than the herbaceous plants. European aspen had the highest Bioaccumulation Factor (BCF) for cadmium and zinc. A high capacity to accumulate these elements was also demonstrated by silver birch, and in the case of cadmium, by common oak. Accumulation of both lead and copper was low in all plants. The Translocation Factors (TF) indicated that the heavy metals were accumulated mainly in the roots. European aspen, silver birch and European goldenrod were shown to be most suitable for stabilization of the metals analysed in the research.

Tomato Accumulates Cadmium to a Concentration Independent of Plant Growth

“…This disparity in Cd accumulation among the 31 cultivars examined in this study can likely be attributed to this underlying genetic regulation. In a recent study by Szwalec et al [32], the accumulation of heavy metals in plants, specifically European Aspen and silver birch, was predominantly observed in the roots. However, the findings of this study indicate that the majority of the Cd accumulation was in the shoot, while the roots exhibited a minimal absolute accumulation of Cd (Figure 1b).…”

A Phytoremediation Approach for the Restoration of Coal Fly Ash Polluted Sites: A Review

“…More than 119 million tons of coal has been consumed between 2014 and 2015, resulting to approximately 35 million tons of CFA (Reynolds-Clausen, & Singh, 2019). Currently, the worldwide generation of ash is estimated at approximately 750 million tons (Szwalec et al, 2022), suggesting that more than 500 million tons is CFA. Though several alternative energy sources have been proposed and implemented, the rate at which the coal is being used as the main source of energy cannot be counterbalanced (Basu et al, 2009;Verma et al, 2014).…”

“…Plants growing on coal combustion waste landfill were evaluated for their phytoremediation potential. The tree species (Betula pendula Roth, Populus tremula L.) and the herbaceous species (Solidago virgaurea L.) were effective at accumulating Cd and Zn, but low accumulation for Pb and Cu highlighting the species are specific at accumulating pollutants and therefore the tested species have potential in eco-restoration of ash deposits polluted with Cd and Zn (Szwalec et al, 2022). Studies on plants that can tolerate such harsh conditions, pave a way for identification of species that can solve problems associated with CFA disposal.…”