The effect of nitrate enrichment of Lemna minor on the phytoremediation of copper
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
11th Grade
Presentation Topic
Environmental Science
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
An increasing amount of the planet’s land and water resources are being heavily polluted to the point where they can no longer be used for consumption. Numerous chemical methods for the removal of heavy metal pollution from water have been examined, yet these methods are costly and inefficient. However, a relatively new method of decontamination called phytoremediation could be the answer to more efficient pollution removal. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the ability of Lemna minor to accumulate copper could be further improved with KNO3 enrichment. It was hypothesized that 7.0 g/L of KNO3 would lead to the highest percent removal of copper, indicating higher copper accumulation in L. minor. The L. minor was grown for three weeks before experimentation began. Then 0.30g, 0.50g and 0.70g of KNO3 were measured and were added to dishes containing 100 mL of spring water. Additionally, 0.10g of CuCl2 was also added to these dishes along with two of the control groups. The copper concentrations in the dishes were measured after seven days using copper test strips. The percent of copper removal was calculated, and data were analyzed using an ANOVA at α=0.05. There was enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there was a significant difference between the means of percent removal of the treatments, F(4,145)= 40.530, p<0.001. However, according to the Tukey Post-Hoc test, the results were inconclusive since the specific concentration that led to the highest percent removal could not be determined.
Recommended Citation
Soman, Arya K., "The effect of nitrate enrichment of Lemna minor on the phytoremediation of copper" (2015). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 238.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2015/all/238
Start Date
4-11-2015 2:15 PM
End Date
4-11-2015 2:30 PM
The effect of nitrate enrichment of Lemna minor on the phytoremediation of copper
An increasing amount of the planet’s land and water resources are being heavily polluted to the point where they can no longer be used for consumption. Numerous chemical methods for the removal of heavy metal pollution from water have been examined, yet these methods are costly and inefficient. However, a relatively new method of decontamination called phytoremediation could be the answer to more efficient pollution removal. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the ability of Lemna minor to accumulate copper could be further improved with KNO3 enrichment. It was hypothesized that 7.0 g/L of KNO3 would lead to the highest percent removal of copper, indicating higher copper accumulation in L. minor. The L. minor was grown for three weeks before experimentation began. Then 0.30g, 0.50g and 0.70g of KNO3 were measured and were added to dishes containing 100 mL of spring water. Additionally, 0.10g of CuCl2 was also added to these dishes along with two of the control groups. The copper concentrations in the dishes were measured after seven days using copper test strips. The percent of copper removal was calculated, and data were analyzed using an ANOVA at α=0.05. There was enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there was a significant difference between the means of percent removal of the treatments, F(4,145)= 40.530, p<0.001. However, according to the Tukey Post-Hoc test, the results were inconclusive since the specific concentration that led to the highest percent removal could not be determined.
