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

Shahbaz Rasool, Iftikhar Ahmad (), Aftab Jamal, Muhammad Farhan Saeed, Ali Zakir, Ghulam Abbas, Mahmoud F. Seleiman and Andrés Caballero-Calvo ()
Additional contact information
Shahbaz Rasool: Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari-Campus, Vehari 61100, Pakistan
Iftikhar Ahmad: Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari-Campus, Vehari 61100, Pakistan
Aftab Jamal: Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Crop Production Sciences, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar 25130, Pakistan
Muhammad Farhan Saeed: Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari-Campus, Vehari 61100, Pakistan
Ali Zakir: Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari-Campus, Vehari 61100, Pakistan
Ghulam Abbas: Centre for Climate Research and Development, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad 45550, Pakistan
Mahmoud F. Seleiman: Department of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Andrés Caballero-Calvo: Department of Regional Geographical Analysis and Physical Geography, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-16

Abstract: Wastewater generation is a major concern, as most of it goes untreated. Industries, urban areas, and agriculture are the major contributors to wastewater. Phytoremediation is an effective method of wastewater treatment. However, the potential of local aquatic species for hyper-accumulation of heavy metals remains elusive. This study focuses on evaluating the native macrophyte Eichhornia crassipes for phytoremediation potential in different source-based water environments: freshwater (FW), industrial (IW), and urban wastewater (UW). Physico-chemical analysis was conducted on water samples (five samples from each source) along with the corresponding E. crassipes plants for assessing physiological, nutritional, and heavy metal parameters. The results showed distinct characteristics among the water sources. The FW had a high pH, and the IW exhibited elevated levels of electrical conductivity (EC: 1746 μS cm −1 ), total dissolved solids (TDS: 864 mg L −1 ), chloride (Cl − : 557.83 mg L −1 ), sulfate (SO 4 − : 137.27 mg L −1 ), and calcium (Ca ++ : 77.83 mg L −1 ) ions. The UW exhibited high bicarbonate (HCO 3 − : 123.38 mg L −1 ), sodium (Na + : 154 mg L −1 ), and potassium (K + : 37.12 mg L −1 ) ions. The Cd contamination exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) limits (0.003 mg L −1 ) in the FW (0.05 mg L −1 in FW-5) and UW (0.05 mg L −1 in UW-3); Cr contamination was higher than the permissible limits of the WHO, National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS), and the European Union (EU) (0.05 mg L −1 ) in FW, IW, and UW; arsenic (As) in IW exceeded the WHO, United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and EU limits of 10 μg L −1 , and Pb in UW exceeded the WHO (0.01 mg L −1 ), NEQS (0.05 mg L −1 ), and EU (0.01 mg L −1 ) limits. E. crassipes displayed different traits depending on the water sources. FW-grown plants had a higher biomass and chlorophyll-b content, while UW-grown plants had higher photosynthesis rates and chlorophyll-a content. Shoots accumulated more Na + , K + , and Ca ++ ions than roots. Metal translocation from roots to shoots followed specific patterns for each source: the TFs of Zn = 3.62 in FW > Cd = 2.34 in UW > Cr = 1.61 and Pb = 1.29 in IW and BCFs were found in ascending order: Zn > Ni > Cd > As > Pb in FW, Cd > Zn > Ni > Cr > Pb > As in IW, and Cd > Ni > Pb > Cr > Zn > As in UW. The bioconcentration factor was higher in the roots than in the shoots. These findings suggest that E. crassipes shows promise as a phytoremediation option for heavy metal-contaminated wastewater due to its ability to thrive in harsh wastewater conditions with a higher TF > 1 and BCF > 1. Therefore, the utilization of these macrophytes holds potential for wastewater treatment.

Keywords: heavy metal(loids); water hyacinth; contamination limits; bioaccumulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/15/11533/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/15/11533/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:15:p:11533-:d:1202513

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().