Abstract

Surface water is polluted due to many reasons, mainly wastewater and irrigation discharges, and loses its value for potential uses. In this study, phytoremediation was applied to improve the surface water provided from a branch of the Gediz River, which meets the freshwater needs of Izmir Bird Paradise but is not qualified as a quality water source in terms of ecosystem. For this purpose, the removal efficiencies of Cyperus alternifolius L. (umbrella palm) and Vetiveria zizanioides (L.) Nash (vetiver) for total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and total organic carbon (TOC) were tested in the tanks, which were set with the floating treatment wetland (FTW) with a control group. TP, TN and TOC were measured in water on the 1st, 3rd, 7th and 14th days, while macro and micronutrients were measured in the plants at the beginning and end of the study. TP removal was 92%, 82%, and 45%; TN removal was 62%, 52%, and 24%; and TOC removal was 79%, 66%, and 13% in umbrella palm, vetiver and control tanks, respectively. The translocation factors (TF) that were expected to be >1 in plants were determined as Cd (1.55), Pb (1.27), B (1.19), and Cr (1.11) in vetiver, and B (1.33) and Pb (1.14) in umbrella palm. Considering the increase in biomass, it can be said that the umbrella palm accumulates metal at a higher rate. This study demonstrates that with the usage of umbrella palm and vetiver, FTW has the potential to be used as a green treatment method.

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