The use of water spinach plants (Ipomoea aquatica Forsk.) for phytoremediation of hospital waste

Abstract

Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica Forsk.) has the ability to accumulate pollutants so that it can be useful for wastewater treatment processes. The purpose of this study was to determine the phytoremediation technique in hospital wastewater using kale in improving the quality of hospital wastewater and to determine the level of accumulation of Pb and Cr metals in plants. The study used a completely randomized design with four treatments, namely treatment 0 days (without treatment), 2 days, 4 days and 6 days. Parameters include the physical and chemical quality of the waste as well as the content of Pb and Cr in the waste and plants. To determine the effect of phytoremediation on the quality of household waste and metal content, ANOVA analysis and further testing with the BNT test level of 5% were used. Phytoremediation with kale was able to reduce the temperature of the waste on the 4th day of treatment and dissolved oxygen on the 4th treatment and increase the pH. The accumulation of Pb and Cr on each day is different. The highest accumulation of Pb and Cr occurred on day 6, namely 0.1587 mg/L for Pb metal and 0.2167 mg/L for Cr metal. Kale plants are very possible to be used in the phytoremediation process.