Bioremediation approach using charophytes—preliminary laboratory and field studies of mine drainage water from the Mansfeld Region, Germany

Herbst, Anne; Patzelt, Leila; Schoebe, Stefanie; Schubert, Hendrik; von Tümpling, Wolf

Bioremediation approach using charophytes—preliminary laboratory and field studies of mine drainage water from the Mansfeld Region, Germany

2019

Herbst, Anne | Patzelt, Leila | Schoebe, Stefanie | Schubert, Hendrik | von Tümpling, Wolf

Mine drainage water from the Schlenze stream, Mansfeld Region, Central Germany, which have shown an increase in heavy metal concentrations of Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Zn²⁺, was used to investigate the bioremediation potential of charophytes. The removal of heavy metals by Chara subspinosa from the water was tested in single- and multi-metal additions. The uptake capacity of C. subspinosa decreased during the course of the experiment and was higher in single-metal addition than in multi-metal addition of Pb²⁺, Zn²⁺, and Cd²⁺. Accumulation of heavy metals in the carbonate encrustation of charophytes was far lower than those to which they were exposed. Cu, Cd, Pb, and Zn co-precipitated more in the encrustation of C. subspinosa exposed to single-metal approach than to multi-metal approach. The carbonate composition of charophytes was influenced by the water chemistry. Content of Na in the carbonate encrustation correlated with the Na⁺ concentration of the respective water. The toxic effect of heavy metals on photosynthesis was species-specific. Electron transport rates (ETRₘₐₓ) were higher in Chara tomentosa than in C. subspinosa. Charophytes withstand the heavy metal concentrations when diluted with river water from the Altarm cut-off lake and can therefore be used for the bioremediation of diluted mine drainage waters by co-precipitating Cd, Cu, and Zn.

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