Eichhornia crassipes as biosorbent for heavy metal ions

Eichhornia crassipes approaches being a scourge in many parts of the world, choking waterways and hindering transport upon them. At the same time it is known to readily abstract heavy metal ions from water and, thus, aids in the removal of heavy metals found in such waters. This paper considers the possibility of using dried parts of the plant as an inexpensive adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals from contaminated chemical and mining industry waste waters. In particular the root of the plant was found to be an excellent accumulator of divalent heavy metal ions from solution although the entire biomass of the plant was also found to be a good sorbent for these ions. It is also suggested that the dried biomass of the plant might be placed in simple bags and used in a very low cost metal ion removal system.