Evaluating the Phytoremediation Potential of Eichhornia crassipes for the Removal of Cr and Li from Synthetic Polluted Water

Abstract

Heavy metals like chromium (Cr) are hazardous pollutants for aquatic life in water bodies. Similarly, lithium (Li) is also an emerging contaminant in soil and water which later is taken up by plants. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the removal rate of Cr and Li by Eichhornia crassipes. The rate of the removal of Cr and Li by roots, stems, and leaves of E. crassipes were evaluated. The translocation factor (TF) and bioaccumulation factor (BAF) were also estimated. Roots of E. crassipes accumulated higher concentrations of Cr and Li as compared to the stems and leaves. BAF for Cr and Li showed that E. crassipes effectively accumulated the Cr and Li in the roots as compared to the stems and leaves. Statistical analysis showed that E. crassipes removed significant concentrations of Cr and Li (p ≤ 0.05). Thus, this study recommends that Cr and Li can be effectively removed by E. crassipes. High concentrations of Cr and Li could also be removed by E. crassipes. This technology could be used for the cleanup of the environment because it is eco-friendly and cost-effective.

Removal of Chromium (III) and Reduction in Toxicity in a Primary Tannery Effluent Using Two Floating Macrophytes

“…The removal efficiency (R%) was determined using Equation (3): where R is the pollutant reduction, Ci is the initial pollutant concentration, and Cf is the final pollutant concentration [ 51 ].…”

“…where R is the pollutant reduction, Ci is the initial pollutant concentration, and Cf is the final pollutant concentration [51].…”

Evaluation of Phytoremediation Potential of an Aquatic Macrophyte (Eichhornia crassipes) in Wastewater Treatment

“…Various physical (membrane filtration, physical adsorption), chemical (precipitation, ion exchange, coagulation, and flocculation), and biological (biosorption) approaches are being introduced to detoxify heavy metals' impact from wastewater and promote the reuse of water to mitigate water shortages [3,4,7]. Nevertheless, these approaches are not only economically non-sustainable and non-eco-friendly [8], but their efficiency (50%) is still questionable [9]. In recent years, researchers have been growing interest in exploring alternative, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly approaches, such as phytoremediation [8][9][10], for wastewater treatment.…”

“…Nevertheless, these approaches are not only economically non-sustainable and non-eco-friendly [8], but their efficiency (50%) is still questionable [9]. In recent years, researchers have been growing interest in exploring alternative, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly approaches, such as phytoremediation [8][9][10], for wastewater treatment.…”

“…Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), a highly productive and free-floating aquatic plant from the Pontedriaceae family, is renowned for its exceptional nutrient absorption, pollution resistance, and massive growth, making it the most toxic weed [18]. Among the hyper-accumulators, E. crssipes is an idealistic aquatic macrophyte for significant bioaccumulation of toxic metals like Cd, Co, Ni, Hg, and Pb and metalloids like arsenic [9,10]. This species exhibits high adsorption efficiency for heavy metals like Cr, Pb, Cu, etc., effectively removing up to 90% of these metals from water.…”