Assessment of the lead absorptive capacity of water cabbage (Pistia stratiotes)

Date

4-2012

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry

College

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Fajardo, Norma N.

Committee Member

Rodriguez, Myrna S. Torio, Mary Ann O.

Abstract

The phytoremediation capability of water cabbage (Pistia stratiotes) was assessed by studying its ability to absorb Pb. For the preliminary treatment of the samples, wet acid digestion and dry ashing were used for the deep well water and plants, respectively. Pb analysis was conducted using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The deep well water used for growing the plants was tested for its physical and chemical properties such as pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), total dissolved solids (TDS), conductivity, turbidity, phosphate (PO43-), ammonia-N (NH3-N) and Pb content. Analysis of control samples by AAS showed that the procedure used could recover as much as 90% of the Pb present. Preliminary tests of the Pb absorptive capacity of water cabbage using Pb solutions of various concentrations showed the highest Pb removal of 93% for plants grown in solutions 10 mg Pb/L in concentration. Thus, plant samples used in the course of the study were cultured in deep well water containing 10 mg Pb/L. The plants grown in Pb-containing well water were harvested at various time intervals and analyzed for Pb. The levels of Pb in roots and leaves increased significantly on the first 8 days. The metal concentrated mostly in the roots than in the leaves. Water cabbage can efficiently absorb and accumulate Pb from Pb-contaminated water as shown by its high value of bioconcentration factor (BCF). The transfer factor (TLF) of 0.46 suggests that water cabbage is a metal excluder type which means that it is unable to effectively transport the metal to its aerial parts. Upscale approximations showed that one hectare of water cabbage can absorb 5.0 x 103 kg Pb in 14 days from Pb-contaminated water.

Language

English

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section

Call Number

LG 993.5 2012 C42 B38

Document Type

Thesis

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