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. 2022 Mar 17;19(6):3583.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063583.

An Assessment of the Metal Removal Capability of Endemic Chilean Species

Andrea Lazo  1 , Pamela Lazo  2 , Alejandra Urtubia  1 , María Gabriela Lobos  2 , Henrik K Hansen  1 , Claudia Gutiérrez  1
Affiliations

An Assessment of the Metal Removal Capability of Endemic Chilean Species

Andrea Lazo et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

In Chile, there are several abandoned mine tailing impoundments near population centers that need to be remediated. In this study, the ability of Oxalis gigantea, Cistanthe grandiflora, and Puya berteroniana to remove Zn, Ni, and Cr from mine tailings was evaluated. The plants' removal efficiency, bioconcentration, and translocation factors regarding these metals were determined to assess the ability of certain endemic species from Northern and Central Chile to extract or stabilize metals. After a period of seven months, the chemical analysis of plants and tailings, together with the statistical treatment of data, indicated the inability of all the species to translocate Ni, Cr, or Zn with a translocation factor lower than one. The results showed the stabilizing character of Oxalis gigantea, Puya berteroniana, and Cistanthe grandiflora for Zn, with a bioconcentration factor close to 1.2 in all cases, and the same ability of the latter two species for Cr, with a bioconcentration factor of 1.5 in the case of Cistanthe grandiflora and 1.7 for Puya berteroniana. Finally, a removal efficiency of 9.3% was obtained with Cistanthe grandiflora for Cr and 15% for Ni; values lower than 6.4% were obtained for Zn in all cases. Improvements in the process should be sought to enhance the performance of these species for the accumulation of the target metals.

Keywords: endemic plants; metals; mine tailings.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Schematic representation of phytoextraction and phytostabilization; (b) experimental setup for phytoremediation pot experiments: five triplicates for each species. From these experiments, the translocation factor, bioconcentration factor, and removal efficiency were calculated.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Metal content in studied plant species. Values are mean ± standard deviation. (a) Cr in stems and leaves, and roots; (b) Ni in stems and leaves, and roots; (c) Zn in stems and leaves, and roots.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Phytoremediation factors ± standard deviation for Ni, Zn, and Cr in all studied species. (a) Translocation factor; (b) bioconcentration factor.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Removal efficiency ± standard deviation for Ni, Zn, and Cr for all studied species.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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