Phytoremediation of Copper and Lead by Using Sunflower, Indian Mustard and Water Hyacinth Plants

Environmental pollution is a major cause of concern. Because of the over-mining and industrial effluents, soil and water are being extensively contaminated. One of the methods of overcoming this problem is the use of plants, and the method is called Phytoremediation. Present work is focused on the removal of heavy metal contaminants like lead and copper from soil and water using three different plants, Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), Sunflower (Helianthus annus), and Indian Mustard (Brassica juncea). The plants were grown in presence of heavy metals like lead and copper and digested with mixture of acids and metal concentrations were monitored using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and results showed that copper absorption by plants was more compared to lead. Sunflower plants showed high absorption compared to other two and it was much higher with the use of enhancer like EDTA. Different parts of water hyacinth like leaves, petioles and roots were analyzed for their absorption capacity and among these roots absorbed more amount of metal. The cost effectiveness and user efficiency makes this method useful in pollution monitoring and control.