Liquid waste loaded with heavy metals is more dangerous since water is part of any living or non-living entity and thus constitutes a matrix that can carry these pollutants everywhere. Therefore, it is clear that the industry is responsible for almost all heavy metal releases to water, hence the need to minimize the metal concentration of these waste waters. Such an objective has become possible thanks to techniques of elimination and recovery of metals in water as well as.
In order to overcome the main limitations of the methods currently available in remediation strategies, research has for some years now focused on the use of plants. It has long been known that the presence of a vegetative cover induces or stimulates the biodegradation of a large variety of organic contaminants. On the other hand, some plants are able to grow normally on sites heavily contaminated by various metals, are able to store metals in their aerial and root parts.
These natural properties of plants are exploited in the field of phytoremediation. It is a set of techniques to clean soil, to purify wastewater using plants. Many phytoremediation studies aim to increase the uptake of metals (Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb) by plants to clean up soil and purify industrial and domestic wastewater.
The aim of this study is firstly to eliminate zinc by two plants (Typha Latifolia and Phragmite Australis). This is the treatment via planted filters.
The water at the outlet of this or these filters is depolluted and can be released into the natural environment. In the second place, a comparative assessment of the tolerance and accumulation of zinc by these two plants was made. The choice of this metal was guided by the importance of pollution by this type of metal.
In the first part, we will recall some basic concepts relating to the characteristics of heavy metals, as well as plants adapted to phytoremediation systems.
The second part was conducted to study various aspects of the responses of these plants to zinc and to determine if they have the potential to be included in this phytoremediation process, by studying different parameters ( types of plants, residence time, plant density and accumulation rate).
Source: reference article