Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) removal by the tropical plant, Eleocharis ochrostachys, from contaminated water and sand using sub-surface flow system (SSF) was conducted for 80 days. E. ochrostachys was exposed to various concentrations of diesel (0.5, 1, 2 and 3% v/v). Treatments with and without the plant were conducted to analyse the effect of plants in removing PAHs. A liquid–liquid extraction method was used to extract the PAHs from the wastewater. The PAH removal with plants was significantly better than without plants (p<0.05). At diesel concentrations of 0.5, 1, 2 and 3%, the PAH removal percentages with plants were 89.1, 91.3, 73.0 and 71.6% from water and 95.3, 97.2, 97 and 86.2% from the sand, respectively, while the removals without plants were only 81.8, 81.0, 63 and 63.9% from water and 93.6, 93.9, 95.7 and 81.8% from the sand, respectively. Increasing colony-forming units (CFUs) surrounding the plant roots indicated enhanced growth of rhizobacteria, which could assist the removal of pollutants. Additionally, the gravel layers had removed the total suspended solid (TSS) from 87 to 98%.
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