Removal of nonylphenol in aqueous media using various aquatic plants

Abstract

This study aims to search for suitable plant species for removing nonylphenol contaminated in aqueous media. Two groups of aquatic plant, i.e. canna (Canna spp.), water horn fern (Ceratopteristhalictroides L. Brongn), azolla (Azollaspp.), periwinkle (Jussieuarepens Linn.), fennel (Foeniculumvulgare Mill.), tiger herbal (Centellaasiatica Urban) and water pennywort (Hydrocotyle umbellate L.) were grown in 240 ml glass bottle filled with hydroponics solution (200 ml) containing 1 mg/L or 20 mg/L nonylphenol. The hydroponic solution samples were taken at day 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 21. The solutions were extracted by liquid – liquid extraction method in order to analyze for remaining nonylphenol residues using spectrophotometer. The results have shown that periwinkle was the best among tested species to removed nonylphenol (more than 86%) at the less concentration of nonylphenol (1 mg/L). However, when increasing of nonylphenol concentration to 20 mg/L, canna and fennel share the best ability to remove nonylphenol (more than 81%) in aqueous media. Tiger herbal was the species that removed lest nonylphenol at both concentrations of 1 mg/L (74%) and 20 mg/L (62%). In the absence of aquatic plant at the both concentration (control), nonylphenol can be eliminated from the solution was less than 30%. According to the survival rate, it was found that canna, fennel and water pennywort showed 100% survival  rate after being treated with nonylphenol, while water horn fern, tiger herbal and azolla could not survive through the entire experiment. These facts suggest that phytoremediation could accelerate the removal of nonylphenol residues in aqueous media.