Effectiveness of typha latifolia for phytoremediation of cadmium in acid mine drainage

Abstract

One evidence of environmental pollution is the formation of acid mine drainage. In passive processing systems, the technique that is often used is phytoremediation because the costs incurred for this method are affordable and take advantage of natural ecosystems. In this study, the effectiveness of Typha latifoliain neutralizing acidity and removing heavy metal such as cadmium (Cd) is determined. Cadmium is one of the heavy metals that can be found in nickel, gold, and copper mining area. The acid mine drainage used in this study was artificially made with a concentration of 5and 10 mg/L with a pH of 4.pH testing was carried out using a pH meter and the accumulation concentration of Cd was analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The results revealed that Typha latifolia planted on soil without fertilizer could increase the pH of acid mine drainage containing heavy metal Cd from 4 to ± 7 within 28 days.Typha latifolia can reduce the concentration of Cd in artificial acid mine drainage with the removal efficiency of 95 - 96%. The value of the Bioconcentration Factorin Typha latifolia exposed to acid mine drainage with concentrations of Cd 5 and 10 mg/L are > 1000, which means that this plant has the potential to be a heavy metal hyperaccumulator in phytoremediation.