Efficiency of Five Selected Aquatic Plants in Phytoremediation of Aquaculture Wastewater

The lack of clean water sources, due to the presence of pollutants in water, is a major issue in many countries, including Malaysia. To overcome this problem, various methods have been introduced, including phytoremediation treatment. Therefore, this phytoremediation study examined the ability of fi...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nurul Umairah Mohd Nizam, Marlia Mohd Hanafiah, Izzati Mohd Noor, Hazwani Izzati Abd Karim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/8/2712
Description
Summary:The lack of clean water sources, due to the presence of pollutants in water, is a major issue in many countries, including Malaysia. To overcome this problem, various methods have been introduced, including phytoremediation treatment. Therefore, this phytoremediation study examined the ability of five aquatic plants—<i>Centella asiatica</i>, <i>Ipomoea aquatica</i>, <i>Salvinia molesta</i>, <i>Eichhornia crassipes</i>, and <i>Pistia stratiotes</i>—to remove three pollutants—total suspended solids (TSS), ammoniacal nitrogen (NH<sub>3</sub>-N), and phosphate—from aquaculture wastewater. Using wastewater samples, each containing 50 g of one of the plants, the pollutant levels were measured every two days for 14 days. The results showed a drastic decline in the concentration of pollutants, where <i>C. asiatica</i> was able to remove 98% of NH<sub>3</sub>-N, 90% of TSS, and 64% of phosphate, while <i>I. aquatica</i> showed the potential to eliminate up to 73% of TSS and NH<sub>3</sub>-N, and 50% of phosphate. <i>E. crassipes</i> drastically removed 98% of phosphate, 96% of TSS, and 74% of NH<sub>3</sub>-N, while <i>P. stratiotes</i> was able to eliminate 98% of TSS, 78% of NH<sub>3</sub>-N, and 89% of phosphate. <i>S. molesta</i> was efficient in removing 89.3% of TSS and 88.6% of phosphate, but only removed 63.9% of NH<sub>3</sub>-N.
ISSN:2076-3417