Phytoremediation efficiency of Nelumbo nucifera in removing heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Pb, As and Cd) from water of Anzali wetland

Plant-based remediation (i.e. phytoremediation) is one of the most significant eco-sustainable techniques to cope with devastating consequences of pollutants. In the present study, the potential of a wetland macrophyt (i.e. Nelumbo nucifera) for the phytoremediation of heavy metals (i.e. Cu, Cr, Pb, As and Cd) in the Anzali wetland was evaluated. The results showed that N.nucifera tends to accumulate notable amounts of Cu, Cr, Pb, As and Cd according to their assayed concentrations as follows: 0.31 μg g-1 dw, 3.07 μg g-1 dw, 0.91 μg g-1 dw1.2 μg g-1 dw and 14.32 μg g-1 dw, respectively. Further accurate perception of the phytoremediation efficiency were conducted using both bioconcentration factor and translocation factor. The average of the highest bioconcentration factors was presented in a descending order as: 1.83×103, 1.17×103, 1.17×103, 0.46×103 and 0.29×103 for the Cu, Cr, Pb, Cd and As, respectively. Based on the results, N.nucifera presents high potential to absorb all the alluded metals except for As and Cd. Eventually, relying on the observed findings, the results support the idea that N.nucifera species would be employed as the prospective candidate for the phytoremediation process in Anzali wetland.