Capacity of Absorption and Removal of Heavy Metals from &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Scirpus californicus&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; and Its Potential Use in the Remediation of Polluted Aquatic Environment

Walter Cuadrado,María Custodio,Ciro Espinoza,Carmela Vicuña,Marilú Uribe

doi:10.4236/ojms.2019.92006

Abstract

The research aimed to evaluate the absorption and removal capacity of Cu, Pb, Fe and Zn from Scirpus californicus for potential use in the remediation of polluted aquatic environments. Initially, Scirpus californicus plants were conditioned in 1.5 liters of 10 ppm Cu solution at a pH of 2.3 as well as Pb, Fe and Zn. Subsequently, the concentration of heavy metals in the root-rhizome, submerged stem and aerial stem was determined; the solution and pH were also analyzed. The greatest capacity of absorption and accumulation occurred in the root-rhizome reaching values for Cu of 491.84, Pb of 739.43, Zn of 830.71 and Fe of 2624.72 mg/kg dry followed by the submerged stem and low values for the aerial stem. The removal efficiency of Cu from the solution was 52.10%, Pb 53.50%, Fe 48.00% and Zn 50.20%. It is concluded that the contact time has a significant effect on the absorption and removal capacity of the metals under study.

Highlights

Environmental pollution by heavy metals is one of the main problems of society in the 21st century, as it affects the physical environment and the functioning of ecosystems
The greatest capacity of absorption and accumulation occurred in the root-rhizome reaching values for Cu of 491.84, Pb of 739.43, Zn of 830.71 and Fe of 2624.72 mg/kg dry followed by the submerged stem and low values for the aerial stem
S. californicus plants were collected from the community of Pomachaca-Tarma, in the Junín region, forming 64 experimental units; they were transferred in 10 liter capacity containers with water from their medium (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Environmental pollution by heavy metals is one of the main problems of society in the 21st century, as it affects the physical environment and the functioning of ecosystems. Heavy metals have a great significance as indicators of the ecological quality of any aquatic ecosystem due to their toxicity and especially to the bioaccumulative behavior they possess. Water pollution by heavy metals is a major environmental problem in modern society. Natural decomposition processes do not remove heavy metals. They can accumulate in aquatic biota and become organic complexes, which can potentially become more toxic [2] and cause irreversible damage to human health. The removal of toxic metals from wastewater is essential for the control of environmental pollution

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