Phytoremediation of bauxite-derived red mud by giant reed

In 2010 the pond dam of an aluminium manufacturing plant in Hungary broke and flooded many towns with toxic red mud. At least 10 people were dead and over 150 hospitalized. Bauxite residue is often referred as red mud due to the colour of the bauxite ore and iron oxides. Red mud is separated during the refining process. The production of 1 t of alumina generally results in the creation of 1–1.5 t of red mud. Red mud is toxic for the environment due to high alkalinity, salinity and trace metals. Here, we used the plant Arundo donax L. (giant reed) to uptake trace metals and decrease salinity and pH of red mud. We measured plant toxicity, trace metal availability and biomass production. Results show a 25 % decrease in electrical conductivity of red mud and a 6 % decrease in electrical conductivity of mud-polluted soil. Giant reed cultivation decreases available Cd, Pb, Co, Ni and Fe. Biomass of giant reed seedlings in red mud and mud/control soil mixture was increased by 40.4 and 47.2 %, respectively, comparing with control soil. Our findings show that giant reed is promising to decontaminate soils contaminated by red mud.     

Engineered silica nanoparticles alleviate the detrimental effects of Na+ stress on germination and growth of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - During the past 10 years, exploiting engineered nanoparticles in agricultural sector has been rapidly increased. Nanoparticles are used to...     

Phytoaccumulation potentials of two biotechnologically propagated ecotypes of Arundo donax in copper-contaminated synthetic wastewater

An in vitro experiment was carried out to evaluate the phytoremediation potentials of two somatic embryo-derived ecotypes of Arundo donax—BL (American ecotype) and 20SZ (Hungarian ecotype)—of copper from synthetic wastewater. The two ecotypes were grown under sterile conditions in tubes containing a nutrient solution supplied with increasing doses of Cu (0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, and 26.8 mg L^?1) for 6 weeks. The translocation and bioaccumulation factors and removal rate were estimated. In general, increasing Cu concentration in nutrient solution slightly decreased root, stem and leaf biomass without toxicity symptoms up to 26.8 mg L^?1. Moreover, both ecotypes showed high Cu removal efficiency from aqueous solution. However, Cu removal rate ranged between 96.6 to 98.8 % for BL ecotype and 97 to 100 % for 20SZ ecotype. Data illustrated that both BL and 20SZ ecotypes may be employed to treat Cu-contaminated water bodies up to 26.8 mg L^?1.     

Selenium and nano-selenium in plant nutrition

Selenium (Se) is a naturally occurring metalloid element which occurs nearly in all environments. Se is considered as a finite and non-renewable resource on the Earth. The common sources of Se in earth’s crust occur in association with sulfide minerals such as metal selenide, whereas it is rarely found in elemental form (Se⁰). While there is no evidence of Se need for higher plants, several reports show that when Se added at low concentrations, Se exerts beneficial effects on plant growth. Se may act as quasi-essential micronutrient through altering different physiological and biochemical traits. Thus, plants vary considerably in their physiological and biochemical response to Se. This review focusses on the physiological importance of Se forms as well as different Se fertilizers for higher plants, especially plant growth, uptake, transport, and metabolism.