| Popis: |
In this study, phytoremediation performance of Lemna minor L. on boron removal from synthetic solution and real geothermal water was evaluated. Effects of initial boron concentration, initial pH, water height in cell, and initial humic acid concentration were investigated. The maximum removal efficiency was achieved as 96.7 % with the experimental run with 5 mg L-1 initial boron concentration, pH 8, and 1.5 cm water depth. Increasing the initial boron concentration from 5 to 30 mg L-1 resulted in a drastic decrease in removal efficiency to 36.6 %, due to the toxic effect of high boron content, which was clearly observed from deterioration of plant’s color and structure. SEM, FTIR, and mass balance analyses revealed that the boron removal mechanism was mainly biosorption. Geothermal water experiments indicated L. minor’s applicability with 59.5% removal efficiency, proving high potential in being used for post-treatment of geothermal waters with high boron content. |
