Research Article
Evaluation of the Efficiency of Duckweed (Lemna minor L.) as a Phytoremediation Agent in Wastewater Treatment in Kashmir Himalayas
Irfana Showqi*, Farooq Ahmad Lone and Javeed Iqbal Ahmad Bhat
Division of Environmental Sciences, Sheri-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
- *Corresponding Author:
- Irfana Showqi
Division of Environmental Sciences
Sheri-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir
Shalimar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Tel: +919796598837
E-mail: irfanashowqi@gmail.com
Received Date: June 29, 2017; Accepted Date: July 24, 2017; Published Date: July 26, 2017
Citation: Showqi I, Lone FA, Bhat JIA (2017) Evaluation of the Efficiency of Duckweed (Lemna minor L.) as a Phytoremediation Agent in Wastewater Treatment in Kashmir Himalayas. J Bioremediat Biodegrad 8:405. doi: 10.4172/2155-6199.1000405
Copyright: © 2017 Showqi I, et al. This is an open-a ccess article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
In the present study, the efficiency of duckweed (Lemna minor L.) as an effective natural biological tool in wastewater treatment was examined in an outdoor aquatic system. Duckweed plants were inoculated into wastewater and tap water systems for treatment over fifteen day’s retention periods under local outdoor natural conditions. Water samples were taken below duckweed cover after fifteen days to assess the plant’s efficiency in purifying waste water from different pollutants. For comparison, the plants were also grown in tubs containing tap water. The results show that concentrations of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Nickel (Ni), Chromium (Cr), Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb) decreased by 93.4%, 99.9%, 93.9%, 98.5%., 91.9%, 85.0%, 95.0%, 90.0%, 99.8%, 99.5% and 95.0% respectively in waste water and subsequently these elements exhibited an increasing concentration in the plant body. Almost similar results were obtained when the plants were grown in tubs containing tap water. Biochemical parameters viz. chl-a, b, total-chl, carbohydrates and proteins as well as nutrient status of the macrophyte increased after the completion of the retention period both in waste and tap water. Results confirm that duckweeds can effectively be used for wastewater treatment systems.
