Comparison of Properties of Defluoridation of <i>Ipomoea aquatica</i> and <i>Eichhornia crassipes</i> by Means of Phytoremediation

Abstract

The authors study two species of plant—water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica). These plants are commonly found in aquatic bodies such as lakes, ponds, and rivers. Both plants are grown in a plant growth chamber and introduced to various pH levels and concentrations of fluoride for 10–15&nbsp;days. Defluoridation efficiency of Eichhornia crassipes and Ipomoea aquatica are 58.9 and 40.9%, respectively. The fluoride removal efficiency of Eichhornia crassipes is greater than that of Ipomoea aquatica. The pH results for both plants are varied. The removal efficiency for fluoride decreases for both plants under both increasing and decreasing the pH. The roots play a major role in the defluoridation process because they accumulate the major part of the total fluoride accumulated by plant. Fluoride removal capacity of the roots of Eichhornia crassipes is found to be 1,148.479 μg/gDW (dry weight of taken sample) whereas that of the roots of Ipomoea aquatica is 872.866 μgm/gDW. Because of exposure to fluoride, degradation in biomass substance is observed in both plants.