Abstract
Heavy metals are very toxic and soil contaminated with sewage sludge urgently need remediation in order to avoid related health hazards. Phytoremediation is a low cost and reliable technique to remediate heavy metal contamination. However phytoremediation using timber species was rarely reported and its efficiency was questionable. A field study was conducted to examine the efficiency of two timber species namely Acacia mangium and Melaleuca cajuputi in phytoextraction of Zn, Cu and Cd from contaminated soil. Two hundred of A. mangium and M. cajuputi were planted on sewage sludge disposal site and the growth was recorded for 12 months before at the end total biomass of each species was determined. Results show in 12 months, about 72 and 4 t ha-1 of aboveground biomass can be produced by A. mangium and M. cajuputi, respectively. Both species show potential for phytoremediation, however A. mangium is more efficient compared to M. cajuputi where efficiency of A. mangium to remove Zn was 24.4, 6.2 for Cu and 9.5% for Cd. As for M. cajuputi the efficiency was 1.3, 0.3 and 0.14% for Zn, Cu and Cd, respectively. It is projected that A. mangium require 5, 17 and 20 years to remove 79.82 kg ha-1 of Zn, 46.94 kg ha-1 of Cu and 2.33 kg ha-1 of Cd, respectively.
Highlights
Waste disposal is a greatest challenge for sustainable development
Two hundred of A. mangium and M. cajuputi were planted on sewage sludge disposal site and the growth was recorded for 12 months before at the end total biomass of each species was determined
Results show in 12 months, about 72 and 4 t ha−1 of aboveground biomass can be produced by A. mangium and M. cajuputi, respectively
Summary
Waste disposal is a greatest challenge for sustainable development. It was estimated that the Malaysian population will reach 30 million people in year 2020 and over 62% of it lives in urban areas (Khanif, 2010). Land disposal of sewage sludge cause soils to be polluted especially with heavy metals. Phytoremediation depends on the plant species ability to absorb and transfer heavy metals to the harvestable parts for removal. This require a specific species especially hyperaccumulator species. Siegel (2008) stated that the most effective and efficient method to use in a remediation project on contaminated soils depends on various factors. Among these are characteristics of the soil, pollutant response to immobilization or mobilization procedures and assessment of the impact of the remediation method used on soil ecosystems. A field study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of two tropical timber trees to extract heavy metals
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