Ecological responses and remediation ability of water fern (Azolla japonica) to water pollution

Song, Uhram; Park, Hun; Lee, Eun Ju

doi:10.1007/s12374-012-0010-5

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The highest azolla production was obtained in 2.5% ADSW; under these growth conditions azolla showed 100% absorption of NH 4 + -N and 83% uptake of PO 4 -3 -P. The nitrogen uptake rate was similar to the rates observed previously [4] (155.9 to 252.5 mg N/m 2 –day, or around 3 mg/L-day), for Azolla japonica , grown in swine wastewater (2.5 mg/L-day) and for Lemna gibba grown in domestic wastewater (120 to 209 mg N/m 2 –day) [41]. This rate, however, is higher than those reported [42] (99 mg N/m 2 –day) and for azolla grown in fish farm wastewater, which is low in both nutrients [41], but lower than those reported by Vicenzini et al ., [43] (370 to 540 mg N/m 2 –day), for azolla grown in outdoor culture. The ratio of NH 4 + -N/PO 4 -3 -P absorption rates for azolla in our study was between 3.5 and 6.3, which is in agreement with other publications [4,44], but lower than that observed for duckweed (this research), probably because of higher rates of PO 4 -3 -P uptake in solutions with low concentrations of NH 4 + -N by azolla.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

“…Azolla plants showed higher sensitivity to ADSW, turning brown from the centre of the fronds and eventually dying after days 5 to 7 at concentrations of 50 to10% (Figure 1 , Table 2 ). The highest azolla production was obtained in 2.5% ADSW; under these growth conditions azolla showed 100% absorption of NH 4 + -N and 83% uptake of PO 4 -3 -P. The nitrogen uptake rate was similar to the rates observed previously [ 4 ] (155.9 to 252.5 mg N/m 2 –day, or around 3 mg/L-day), for Azolla japonica , grown in swine wastewater (2.5 mg/L-day) and for Lemna gibba grown in domestic wastewater (120 to 209 mg N/m 2 –day) [ 41 ]. This rate, however, is higher than those reported [ 42 ] (99 mg N/m 2 –day) and for azolla grown in fish farm wastewater, which is low in both nutrients [ 41 ], but lower than those reported by Vicenzini et al ., [ 43 ] (370 to 540 mg N/m 2 –day), for azolla grown in outdoor culture.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

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Dual application of duckweed and azolla plants for wastewater treatment and renewable fuels and petrochemicals production

Muradov

Taha

Miranda

et al. 2014

Biotechnol Biofuels

109

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BackgroundShortages in fresh water supplies today affects more than 1 billion people worldwide. Phytoremediation strategies, based on the abilities of aquatic plants to recycle nutrients offer an attractive solution for the bioremediation of water pollution and represents one of the most globally researched issues. The subsequent application of the biomass from the remediation for the production of fuels and petrochemicals offers an ecologically friendly and cost-effective solution for water pollution problems and production of value-added products.ResultsIn this paper, the feasibility of the dual application of duckweed and azolla aquatic plants for wastewater treatment and production of renewable fuels and petrochemicals is explored. The differences in absorption rates of the key wastewater nutrients, ammonium and phosphorus by these aquatic macrophytes were used as the basis for optimization of the composition of wastewater effluents. Analysis of pyrolysis products showed that azolla and algae produce a similar range of bio-oils that contain a large spectrum of petrochemicals including straight-chain C10-C21 alkanes, which can be directly used as diesel fuel supplement, or a glycerin-free component of biodiesel. Pyrolysis of duckweed produces a different range of bio-oil components that can potentially be used for the production of “green” gasoline and diesel fuel using existing techniques, such as catalytic hydrodeoxygenation.ConclusionsDifferences in absorption rates of the key wastewater nutrients, ammonium and phosphorus by different aquatic macrophytes can be used for optimization of composition of wastewater effluents. The generated data suggest that the composition of the petrochemicals can be modified in a targeted fashion, not only by using different species, but also by changing the source plants’ metabolic profile, by exposing them to different abiotic or biotic stresses. This study presents an attractive, ecologically friendly and cost-effective solution for efficient bio-filtration of swine wastewater and petrochemicals production from generated biomass.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

Dual application of duckweed and azolla plants for wastewater treatment and renewable fuels and petrochemicals production

Muradov

Taha

Miranda

et al. 2014

Biotechnol Biofuels

109

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“…Diluted (50 %) SeSW was less stressful to the A. filiculoides as reflected in the higher rates of nutrient uptake: 33.4, 93 and 39.8 % for NH 4 –N, NO 3 –N and PO 4 –P, respectively. Absorption rates of nutrients by A. filiculoides were reported earlier by several research groups [ 21 , 23 – 26 , 35 , 36 ].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 52%

“…Growing in natural ecosystems, rivers, lagoons and irrigation channels, Azolla plants can bloom with a rate up to 25.6–27.4 g dw/m 2 -day (93.4–100 t dw/ha-year) [ 25 ]. Their growth in wastewaters is associated with the removal of the key wastewater nutrients such as N and P, with rates of up to 2.6 t N/ha-year and 0.434 t P/ha-year, respectively [ 23 – 26 ]. Azolla can also grow efficiently in nitrogen-depleted media using the nitrogen fixing capacity of its symbiont, the endophytic cyanobacterium, Anabaena azollae Strasburger ( A. azollae ), which grows within its leaf cavities (Additional file 2 : Figure S1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aquatic plant Azolla as the universal feedstock for biofuel production

Miranda

Biswas

Ramkumar

et al. 2016

Biotechnol Biofuels

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BackgroundThe quest for sustainable production of renewable and cheap biofuels has triggered an intensive search for domestication of the next generation of bioenergy crops. Aquatic plants which can rapidly colonize wetlands are attracting attention because of their ability to grow in wastewaters and produce large amounts of biomass. Representatives of Azolla species are some of the fastest growing plants, producing substantial biomass when growing in contaminated water and natural ecosystems. Together with their evolutional symbiont, the cyanobacterium Anabaena azollae, Azolla biomass has a unique chemical composition accumulating in each leaf including three major types of bioenergy molecules: cellulose/hemicellulose, starch and lipids, resembling combinations of terrestrial bioenergy crops and microalgae.ResultsThe growth of Azolla filiculoides in synthetic wastewater led up to 25, 69, 24 and 40 % reduction of NH4–N, NO3–N, PO4–P and selenium, respectively, after 5 days of treatment. This led to a 2.6-fold reduction in toxicity of the treated wastewater to shrimps, common inhabitants of wetlands. Two Azolla species, Azolla filiculoides and Azolla pinnata, were used as feedstock for the production of a range of functional hydrocarbons through hydrothermal liquefaction, bio-hydrogen and bio-ethanol. Given the high annual productivity of Azolla, hydrothermal liquefaction can lead to the theoretical production of 20.2 t/ha-year of bio-oil and 48 t/ha-year of bio-char. The ethanol production from Azolla filiculoides, 11.7 × 103 L/ha-year, is close to that from corn stover (13.3 × 103 L/ha-year), but higher than from miscanthus (2.3 × 103 L/ha-year) and woody plants, such as willow (0.3 × 103 L/ha-year) and poplar (1.3 × 103 L/ha-year). With a high C/N ratio, fermentation of Azolla biomass generates 2.2 mol/mol glucose/xylose of hydrogen, making this species a competitive feedstock for hydrogen production compared with other bioenergy crops.ConclusionsThe high productivity, the ability to grow on wastewaters and unique chemical composition make Azolla species the most attractive, sustainable and universal feedstock for low cost, low energy demanding, near zero maintenance system for the production of a wide spectrum of renewable biofuels.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-016-0628-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Statistically non-significant changes in [P]s in control treatments throughout incubation period highlighted that [P]s removed from solutions is due to the Azolla plants in the culture medium. These results are in agreement with Song et al (2012) who reported that water fern effectively removed nitrogen, phosphorus and iron when exposed to three sources of polluted water along with standard solutions. Results about P-amount indicated that [P]s in solutions exposed to A. japonica and A. pinnata were removed faster than with solutions exposed to A. hybrid indicating more removal ability of naturally growing A. japonica and A. pinnata in study 1 and 2.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Microcosm Investigation on Differential Potential of Free Floating Azolla Macrophytes for Phytoremediation of P-controlled Water Eutrophication

Akhtar

Oki²,

Nakashima³

et al. 2015

IJAB

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Eutrophication is caused by an over enrichment of aquatic ecosystems with nutrients, principally with chronic release of phosphorus (P) from point and non-point sources, leading to nuisance algal blooms, anoxic events, impaired water quality and stubborn environmental issues. Aquatic macrophytes display an efficient phytosequestration of inorganics in plant parts due to their non-degradable nature. Serial microcosm experiments were conducted to estimate differential phytoremdiation ability of A. japonica, A. pinnata, and A. hybrid to remove P from different P-eutrophicated solutions under different incubation periods. Azolla plants showed substantial P-removal efficiency from P-eutrophicated solutions, and removed P-amounts were significantly correlated with P-accumulated in plant biomass. About 1-fold decrease in solution pH might be ascribed to H + -efflux. Plants without P-hunger showed lower P-removal rates compared to P-hunger plants. A. japonica displayed highest Premoval efficiency in different experiments. From these kinetic experiments, it is plausible to conclude that phytoaccumulation was the possible mechanism for P-removal, and due to fast growth, high tolerance and accumulation ability, free floating Azolla might be the best candidate among macrophytes to combat P-driven eutrophication. Results obtained will not only provide information to environmental managers to mitigate P-eutrophication but will also provide data base to scientists for their future ventures.

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Ecological responses and remediation ability of water fern (Azolla japonica) to water pollution

Cited by 21 publications

References 31 publications

Dual application of duckweed and azolla plants for wastewater treatment and renewable fuels and petrochemicals production

Dual application of duckweed and azolla plants for wastewater treatment and renewable fuels and petrochemicals production

Aquatic plant Azolla as the universal feedstock for biofuel production

Microcosm Investigation on Differential Potential of Free Floating Azolla Macrophytes for Phytoremediation of P-controlled Water Eutrophication

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