Assessing the potential for phytoremediation by native rooted macrophytes from the Billings Reservoir for the metal's barium, copper and lead

• Grant number: 22/16801-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• End date: March 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences
• Principal Investigator: Diego Barcellos
• Grantee: Melissa Min Ju Kim
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Billings Reservoir supplies water for the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo andthe Great ABC Paulista region (Brazil). Currently, the reservoir is polluted by potentially toxicmetals, such as barium (Ba), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb), from various sources, including domesticeffluents and sewage. One of the strategies that has gained importance for the remediation of areascontaminated by metals is the phytoremediation. Aquatic plants (macrophytes) have beenappraised as metal hyperaccumulators and good candidates for phytoremediation programs.Therefore, the objective of this project is to analyze the phytoremediation and phytoaccumulationpotentials for metals (Ba, Cu and Pb) by the rooted macrophytes Hymenachne amplexicaulis(Rudge) Nees and Hydrocotyle ranunculoides, which occur naturally at the banks of the Billingsdam. Plant tissues of the two rooted macrophytes, sediments and water will be sampled intriplicate at two points of the dam, one of which receives direct discharge of domestic effluentsand the other does not receive direct discharge of domestic effluents. To also evaluate possibleeffects of seasonality on the metal's dynamics at the reservoir, and to assess the capability ofplants to accumulate metals, we will collect samples of plants, sediments and water in the dry andrainy seasons. The concentrations of metals in plant tissues, as well as in water and sedimentswill be analyzed to evaluate the geochemical dynamics of these metals in different compartmentsand to evaluate the phytoremediation metal-accumulation capacity of these two rootedmacrophyte species. Expected results from this project will indicate possible macrophyte'scandidates to act as metal accumulators and to be indicated for phytoremediation programs inaquatic ecosystems contaminated by metals.