The Effect Of Brassica Juncea Phytoremediation Using Soil Doped With Concentrations Of Copper (Ii) Sulfate Solution On Soil Nitrate Content

Sarayu Parise

School Name

Spring Valley High School

Grade Level

10th Grade

Presentation Topic

Environmental Science

Presentation Type

Non-Mentored

Abstract

Phytoremediation is a remediation strategy that is used to restore soil quality. The process was proven by many other researchers to be more efficient, environmentally-friendly, and less expensive compared to other methods. In this experiment, phytoremediation was modeled with contamination from different concentrations of copper (II) sulfate solutions and Brassica juncea plants. Nitrate content was measured before and after the planting to see the effect that phytoremediation might have on the beneficial aspects of soil. It was hypothesized that if the soil was mixed with a 0.0015963 M solution of copper (II) sulfate, it would have the highest nitrate content in the soil left after the model phytoremediation. The different concentrations of the solutions were made by measuring three different amounts of copper (II) sulfate and mixing them into distilled water to make different molar concentrations. The soil was doped, left undisturbed for three weeks, and then the nitrate content was measured using nitrate strips. The Brassica juncea were sowed into the planter trays with the contaminated soil, placed under grow lights, and watered every weekday for three weeks. The nitrate content was measured again and both sets of data were plugged into a formula for exact nitrate content in soil. The hypothesis was rejected when the data depicted that the 0.0047688 M group of soil samples had higher nitrate content overall after phytoremediation instead of the 0.0015963 M group. At =0.05, ANOVA tests indicated that the nitrate content per each soil sample was significantly different both before, F(3, 56) = 17.15, p<.0001 (r = 0.48), and after phytoremediation, F(3, 56) = 5.54, p = 0.0021 (r = 3.00). It was concluded that the phytoremediation process either did not effect the nitrate content in the soil at all, or affected it negatively.

Location

Owens 208

Start Date

4-16-2016 11:45 AM

COinS
 
Apr 16th, 11:45 AM

The Effect Of Brassica Juncea Phytoremediation Using Soil Doped With Concentrations Of Copper (Ii) Sulfate Solution On Soil Nitrate Content

Owens 208

Phytoremediation is a remediation strategy that is used to restore soil quality. The process was proven by many other researchers to be more efficient, environmentally-friendly, and less expensive compared to other methods. In this experiment, phytoremediation was modeled with contamination from different concentrations of copper (II) sulfate solutions and Brassica juncea plants. Nitrate content was measured before and after the planting to see the effect that phytoremediation might have on the beneficial aspects of soil. It was hypothesized that if the soil was mixed with a 0.0015963 M solution of copper (II) sulfate, it would have the highest nitrate content in the soil left after the model phytoremediation. The different concentrations of the solutions were made by measuring three different amounts of copper (II) sulfate and mixing them into distilled water to make different molar concentrations. The soil was doped, left undisturbed for three weeks, and then the nitrate content was measured using nitrate strips. The Brassica juncea were sowed into the planter trays with the contaminated soil, placed under grow lights, and watered every weekday for three weeks. The nitrate content was measured again and both sets of data were plugged into a formula for exact nitrate content in soil. The hypothesis was rejected when the data depicted that the 0.0047688 M group of soil samples had higher nitrate content overall after phytoremediation instead of the 0.0015963 M group. At =0.05, ANOVA tests indicated that the nitrate content per each soil sample was significantly different both before, F(3, 56) = 17.15, p<.0001 (r = 0.48), and after phytoremediation, F(3, 56) = 5.54, p = 0.0021 (r = 3.00). It was concluded that the phytoremediation process either did not effect the nitrate content in the soil at all, or affected it negatively.