Phycoremediation essays

Phycoremediation essays Mine wastewater accounts for the largest Superfund site, the Berkeley Pit, in Butte, Montana. Chlorinated solvent pollution accounts for at least 40% of all Superfund sites. These problems are very real, especially the latter in the greater Attleboro area. The former jewelry capital of the world, Attleboro was the home of early jewelry industry, and this industry has left a scar behind. Trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) were used in the manufacturing process as degreasers used to clean metal. Furthermore, at the time, the knowledge that the chlorinated solvents are carcinogens did not exist. Hence the ultimate purpose of this project, to find an alternative, cleaner, and more cost effective method of cleaning inorganic and organic aqueous pollution. Phycoremediation, or cleaning by the use of algae, is a novel technique when applied to aqueous pollution. Several studies have been performed using soil algae, but very little on heavy metals, and only one concerning chlorinated solvents. This experiment is innovative in its use in water environments. Heavy metal pollution, although not a major problem in this area, is intoxicating the west where most mining takes place. Several assays were performed using three species of algae, Chromulina freiburgensis, Chlorella ellipsoida, and Spirogyra porticalis. The heavy metals of most concern were tested: aluminum, iron, copper, manganese, and nickel (the use of arsenic is a violation of pre-college research rules.) Each was at a 1000 parts per million (ppm) concentration. Results showed that phycoremediation when applied to heavy metal pollution is highly effective, approximately 92% on average. The algae, as a response to the stimulus of high metallic ion concentration, increase the production of the peptide glutathion. This peptide acts as a reducing agent to the ions. The newly reduced ions can then be absorbed by the algal cells via active transport. Designs for an in...