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Vertical phytoremediation of wastewater using Vetiveria zizanioides L.

  • Emerging Harmony and Biodynamic Interactions
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Abstract

In many areas, wastewater feeds water bodies, which leads to it being non-usable for agricultural and other uses. Phytoremediation is a scientific approach which cleans contaminated waters, demanding large areas for application. Vertical agriculture is a new method to compact plant cultures. This study investigates vertical wastewater phytoremediation (VWP). Twenty vetiver grasses were planted in a hydroponic vertical agriculture system. Wastewater flowed into the system in four different flow rates, 60, 80, 100, and 160 l day−1 and water purity was assessed in order to measure the remediation ability of the VWP. Results showed a reduction in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5 and NO3− concentrations and an increase of electrical conductivity (EC) and dissolved oxygen (DO) in the outlet. Maximum and minimum (BOD5) reduction percentage (78.47% and 67.36%) and NO3− removal percentage (90.53% and 36.41%) occurred in flow rates 60 and 160 l day−1, respectively. With the increase of wastewater flow rate, phytoremediation performance decreased, but the performance of VWP with vetiver grass was efficient enough to enable wastewater remediation. Scaling up VWP with Vetiver and related competitive plant species holds promise for wastewater remediation for both human and ecosystem services.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We graciously acknowledge the support of Shahid Chamran University for the use of their facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Salinity Research Center (NSRC), Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Yazd, Iran

    Amir Parnian

  2. Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR, UK

    James Nicholas Furze

  3. Laboratory of Biotechnology and Valorization of Natural Resources, Faculty of Sciences of Agadir, Department of Biology, Ibn Zohr University, 8106, 80000, Agadir, BP, Morocco

    James Nicholas Furze

  4. Control and Systems Engineering Department, University of Technology, Alsinaah Street, P.O. Box: 19006, Baghdad, Postal Code: 10066, Iraq

    James Nicholas Furze

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  1. Amir Parnian
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Amir Parnian performed the experimentation; Amir Parnian and James N. Furze performed the analysis and wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Amir Parnian.

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Parnian, A., Furze, J.N. Vertical phytoremediation of wastewater using Vetiveria zizanioides L.. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 64150–64155 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11906-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11906-6

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