Preliminary results of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) removal by aquatic plants
In the present study, the potential of aquatic plant Scirpus lacustris L. for degradation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) has been investigated. The study was carried out at laboratory-scale constructed wetland. Plants of the studied species were collected from local pond in an urban landscape. Scirpus lacustris was planted onto the sand (d=1-2 mm) and after acclimated period the wetland system was exposed to 5 mg/L concentration of LAS. The experiments were performed in the absence of nutrients. The amount of LAS which was removed by Scirpus lacustris L. after 7 days was 95, 22%. LAS adsorption process onto sand surface was taken into consideration. The COD measurement results indicate very low concentration of organic matter in water samples (up to 20 mg/L). At the end of experiment there was no change in the chlorophyll content in analysed tissue of treated plants compared to the control plant. The results showed that under these experimental conditions there was no effect of LAS on plants morphology. Data obtained from this preliminary study demonstrated the phytoremediation potential of Scirpus lacustris L. for tackling the problem of environmental contamination by surfacants successfully. However, more intensive future research is required to explore various aspects of this approach