Electro-enhanced phytoremediation system on the removal of trace metal concentration from contaminated water

Abstract

The combination of electro-enhanced and hydroponic phytoremediation hereinafter referred to as electro-enhanced phytoremediation (EP) system, has been employed for rapid removal of trace metal concentration of lead (II) from contaminated water using Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) as accumulator plant. In this study, for rapid assessment the effectiveness of two-dimensional (2D) electrode configuration in electro-enhanced system was evaluated by agar media for 48h period of time. Furthermore, these configurations were applied to enhance the EP system for 9d period of time. Also, a common agrochemical-urea as chaotropic agent to facilitate the healthy growth of plant in contaminated water was evaluated. The results showed that the accumulation of lead (II) concentration was higher in the plant roots (i.e. high bioaccumulation coefficient (BC) value) than in aerial parts of plant (i.e. low translocation factor (TF) value). Also, the accumulation of lead (II) concentration in plant was higher under the treated urea of EP system. The chlorophyll content, biomass accumulation productivity, and water content (i.e. dry weight-fresh weight (DW/FW) ratio) of plant either under the treated urea or untreated urea with high accumulation of lead (II) concentration revealed that the Kentucky bluegrass has able to hold out the plant stress.

Keywords

• Electro-enhanced phytoremediation
• Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.)
• Lead(II)
• Trace heavy metal concentration
• Urea