Phytoremediation of chromium, nickel and zinc by free-floating aquatic macrophytes at the Billings Reservoir

• Grant number: 22/16706-9
• 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: Beatriz Rodrigues Fraga da Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Urban reservoirs have increasingly been threatened by domestic effluents loaded with potentially toxic metals, such as chromium, zinc, and nickel. To remediate metal contaminated reservoirs and other aquatic systems the use of macrophytes as phytoremediation has been praised as a sustainable solution. The Billings reservoir is an important source of water supply for the metropolitan region of São Paulo city (Brazil), but has been considerably contaminated by metals from several sources, including sewage and other domestic wastes. This project aims to evaluate the phytoremediation and metal-accumulation potential for two free-floating aquatic macrophytes at the Billings Reservoir that have been already identified, the Pistia stratiotes and the Salvinia spp. To evaluate the fate of metals in these plants, we plan to sample and analyze the metal contents (Cr, Ni, and Zn) in these two free-floating macrophytes, as well as in the sediment and water where these plants dwell, in 6 sampling locations of the reservoir. To evaluate the potential for phytoremediation by these two free-floating macrophytes, we will compute the translocation factor (metal translocation from root to shoot) and bioconcentration factor (ratio of metal concentration in shoot by metal concentration in soil). Results from this study will be important to verify the potential for remediation of metals in contaminated reservoirs through a sustainable technology (phytoremediation), with potential applications in other aquatic environments contaminated by metals.