Abstract
Silicon (Si) has been recently reconsidered as a beneficial element due to its direct roles in stimulating the growth of many plant species and alleviating metal toxicity. This study aimed at validating the potential of an aquatic macrophyte Eleocharis acicularis for simultaneous removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions under different dissolved Si. The laboratory experiments designed for determining the removal efficiencies of heavy metals were conducted in the absence or presence of Si on a time scale up to 21 days. Eleocharis acicularis was transplanted into the solutions containing 0.5 mg L−1 of indium (In), gallium (Ga), silver (Ag), thallium (Tl), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) with various Si concentrations from 0 to 4.0 mg L−1. The results revealed that the increase of dissolved Si concentrations enhanced removal efficiencies of E. acicularis for Ga, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb, while this increase did not show a clear effect for In, Tl, and Ag. Our study presented a notable example of combining E. acicularis with dissolved Si for more efficient removals of Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Ga from aqueous solutions. The findings are applicable to develop phytoremediation or phytomining strategy for contaminated environment.
Highlights
Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element in soil after oxygen
Silicon has recently been reconsidered as a beneficial element for higher plants [3], because of its roles in various bio-physio-mechanical functions [4,5]
It is obvious that heavy metals were removed at different efficiencies and levels, and Si showed a clear effect as an enhancer for metal removal by E. acicularis
Summary
Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element in soil after oxygen. Almost all terrestrial plants contain Si in their tissues, the content of Si varies considerably across species, ranging from0.1% to 10% Si on a dry weight (wt) basis [1]. Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element in soil after oxygen. Silicon has recently been reconsidered as a beneficial element for higher plants [3], because of its roles in various bio-physio-mechanical functions [4,5]. Si or fast-reacting silicates can enhance crop yield [6] and stimulate the tolerance and accumulation of heavy metals [7,8,9]. This has encouraged more work on the combination of plant selection and Si application for more efficient heavy metal removal to develop phytoremediation or phytomining techniques
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