Removal of Total Nitrogen and Phosphorus Using Single or Combinations of Aquatic Plants.

Su Su,Chen Chen,Xu Xu,Zhuang Zhuang,Wang Wang,Li Li

doi:10.3390/ijerph16234663

Abstract

Phytoremediation is a potentially suitable technology for taking up large amounts of N and P during plant growth and the removal of plant material, thereby avoiding eutrophication. We compared the capacity of nine different aquatic plant species for removing total P (TP), total N (TN), and NH4+-N from raw domestic sewage wastewater collected from a living area located in Guangzhou city, China, and different concentrations of artificial wastewater. The experiments were performed in two stages, namely screening and modification. In the screening stage, four plant species were identified from the nine grown in raw domestic sewage water for 36 days. In the modification stage, the TN and TP removal ability of different plant combinations were determined in artificial wastewater at different N/P concentrations. After having been grown in monocultures for 46 days, Ipomoea aquatica (90.6% and 8.8%) and Salvinia natans (67.3% and 14.2%) obtained the highest TP removal efficiency in lightly and highly polluted wastewater, respectively. The combination of S. natans and Eleocharis plantagineiformis effectively removed TP and TN from lightly polluted water, suggesting that this combination is suitable for phytoremediation of eutrophic wastewater.

Highlights

With the rapid development of the Chinese economy and the accompanying accelerated urbanisation, various pollutants have been discharged into surface water bodies, which has led to increasingly serious pollution of rivers and lakes [1]
The plant species used in this study were Salvinia natans, Eleocharis plantagineiformis, Ipomoea aquatica, Hydrocotyle vulgaris, Colocasia tonoimo, Typha orientalis, Eichhornia crassipes, Dysophylla sampsonii, and Rotala indica, which were selected from more than 30 aquatic plant species based on their good growth rates
The results of this study showed that the nine aquatic plant species or their combinations played a notable role in water purification within 36 or 46 days

Summary

Introduction

With the rapid development of the Chinese economy and the accompanying accelerated urbanisation, various pollutants have been discharged into surface water bodies, which has led to increasingly serious pollution of rivers and lakes [1]. Eutrophication endangers aquatic organisms and leads to the degradation of aquatic ecosystems, a decline in biodiversity, the collapse of nutrient cycles, and the development of water blooms, which negatively affect agriculture, industry, and drinking water production [3,4]. Eutrophication is mostly the result of human activities that release large amounts of N and P into water bodies [3]. Animal production, agricultural practices, and endogenous pollution can result in an extensive release of N and P, considerably influencing the water environment [2,6]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion