A Study on Arsenic Uptaking Capacity of Water Hyacinth
Water hyacinths are free-floating aqueous weeds which can accumulate metals. They have fibrous roots and obtain all of their nutrients from the water. Determination of arsenic uptaking capacity of water hyacinth in arsenic-contaminated water is the main objective of the study. Total of 1350 grams wet water hyacinths were taken from adaptation tank which was collected from the Lake of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) campus and were maintained in 27 L tap water supplemented with 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 and 1.5 mg/L of As in three glass tanks and the test durations were 0, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72 hours. Samples were collected from three glass tanks and arsenic remained in the solution was measured by Silver Di-ethyl Di-thyo Carbamate (SDDC) method. It was found that the remaining concentration reached below the permissible limit 0.05 mg/L (Bangladesh drinking water quality standard) on or before 48 hours for initial concentration 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6 mg/L of As. But for higher initial concentration (0.8, 1.0 and 1.5 mg/L) the remaining concentration started to increase after 48 hours. So the gross effective floating period for water hyacinth is 48 hours up to initial concentration 0.6 mg/L.
Acharyya, A.K., Lahiri, S., Raymahashay, B.C. and A. Bhowmik (2000). Arsenic toxicity of groundwater in parts of the Bengal basin in India and Bangladesh: The role of Quaternary stratigraphy and Holocene fluctuation. Environmental Geology, 39: 1127–1137.
Aoi, T. and T. Hayashi (1996). Nutrient removal by water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes). Water Sci. Tech., 34: 407–412.
APSU (2006). Selected papers on the social aspects of arsenic and arsenic mitigation in Bangladesh. Arsenic Policy Support Unit, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
BGS (1999). Groundwater studies for arsenic contamination in Bangladesh. British Geological Survey, Final Report.
BGS (2000). Arsenic contamination of groundwater, Bangladesh phase 1, Applied geosciences for our changing earth. http://www.bgs.ac.uk/arsenic/bphase1/B_find.htm. Accessed 19 May 2010.
Caroli, F., Torre, L.A., Petrucci, F. and N. Violante (1996). Element speciation in bioinorganic chemistry. Chemical Analysis Series, 135: 445–463.
Daymond, G.C. and A.R.I.C. (1949). The Water-Hyacinth: A Cinderella of the Plant World, its use in sewage effluents, as a trapper of salts and a water purifier. http://www.journeytoforever.org/farm_library/dymond.html. Accessed 20 May 2010.
Knudson, J.A., Meikle, T. and T.H. DeLuca (2003). Role of Mycorrhizal Fungi and Phosphorus in the Arsenic Tolerance of Basin Wildrye. J. Environ. Qual., 32: 2001–2006.
Maine, M.A., Sune, N.L., Panigatti, M.C. and M.J. Pizarro (1999). Relationships between water chemistry and macrophyte chemistry in lotic and lentic environment. Arch. Hydrobiol, 145 (2): 129–145.
Saha, J.C. (1999). Removal of Arsenic from Water Environment by New Adsorbent. Ph.D. Dissertation, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India.
Shams, S. (2002). Prototype GIS and Expert System for Arsenic Evaluation and Mitigation: A Case Study of Chapai Nawabganj District in Bangladesh. TRITA-LWR Master Thesis, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden.
Than, M.M. (1990). Cation polluted water treatment: Cu, Fe, Pb uptake by water hyacinth. M.Sc. Thesis, Yangon University, Yangon, Myanmar.
Zhang, W., Cai, Y., Tu, C. and L.Q. Ma (2002). Arsenic Speciation and Distribution in an Arsenic Hyper- accumulating Plant. Sci. Total Environ., 300: 167–178.