IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jcltec/v5y2023i3p41-851d1180854.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mercury Removal from Mining Wastewater by Phytoaccumulation in Autochthonous Aquatic Plant Species

Author

Listed:
  • Franco Hernan Gomez

    (Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy
    Research Center on Appropriate Technologies for Environmental Management in Limited Resources Countries (CeTAmb), University of Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy
    Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech, Av. Maristany 16, 08019 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Maria Cristina Collivignarelli

    (Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 3, 27100 Pavia, Italy
    Interdepartmental Centre for Water Research, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 3, 27100 Pavia, Italy)

  • Ahmed Mohammad Nafea Masoud

    (Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy
    Research Center on Appropriate Technologies for Environmental Management in Limited Resources Countries (CeTAmb), University of Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy)

  • Marco Carnevale Miino

    (Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 3, 27100 Pavia, Italy)

  • Kelly Cristina Torres

    (Research Group on Conservation and Use of Biodiversity-BioCon, Instituto Universitario de la Paz-Unipaz, km 14, vía Bucaramanga, Barrancabermeja 687033, Colombia)

  • Jesus Antonio Quintero

    (Research Group on Conservation and Use of Biodiversity-BioCon, Instituto Universitario de la Paz-Unipaz, km 14, vía Bucaramanga, Barrancabermeja 687033, Colombia)

  • Sabrina Sorlini

    (Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy
    Research Center on Appropriate Technologies for Environmental Management in Limited Resources Countries (CeTAmb), University of Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy)

  • Mentore Vaccari

    (Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy
    Research Center on Appropriate Technologies for Environmental Management in Limited Resources Countries (CeTAmb), University of Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy)

Abstract

Mining wastewater (MWW) can contain mercury in high concentrations. In this study, four autochthonous aquatic plant species ( Eichhornia Crassipes —EC, Marsilea Quadrifolia —MQ, Ludwigia Helminthorrhiza —LH, and Lemna Minor —LM) were identified and tested for phytoaccumulation of total mercury (THg). To better study the accumulation phenomenon and macrophyte responses, this work has been divided into three phases, and pilot-scale reactors have been used to simulate real conditions. The results highlighted that, in case of 15 µg THg,fed , the bioconcentration factor (BCF) was significantly higher in EC (19.04) and LH (18.41) with respect to MQ and LM (almost six times and two times higher, respectively). EC granted the best results in terms of THg accumulation (50.90%) and lower evapotranspiration of THg phenomenon with respect to LH. A significant decrease of the BCF (from 23.45 to 21.98) and an increase of the TF (from 0.23 up to 0.73) after 42 d highlighted that a breaking-time in terms of THg accumulation was reached due to the deterioration of the roots. In terms of the kinetics of THg removal by bioaccumulation, an HLT of 69.31 d was found, which is more than the breaking-time of the EC system, proving that a periodic replacement of exhausted macrophytes is required to obtain a higher percentage of THg removal.

Suggested Citation

  • Franco Hernan Gomez & Maria Cristina Collivignarelli & Ahmed Mohammad Nafea Masoud & Marco Carnevale Miino & Kelly Cristina Torres & Jesus Antonio Quintero & Sabrina Sorlini & Mentore Vaccari, 2023. "Mercury Removal from Mining Wastewater by Phytoaccumulation in Autochthonous Aquatic Plant Species," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-13, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jcltec:v:5:y:2023:i:3:p:41-851:d:1180854
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/5/3/41/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/5/3/41/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vélez-Torres, Irene & Vanegas, Diana, 2022. "Contentious environmental governance in polluted gold mining geographies: The case of La Toma, Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jcltec:v:5:y:2023:i:3:p:41-851:d:1180854. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.