AACL Bioflux, vol: 10,4 (2017)
Reduction of Pb concentration in seawater by seaweed gracilaria verrucosa
Handhani A.R., Ambariyanto A., Supriyantini E.
Abstract
Heavy metal pollution, particularly Pb, may damage estuary and coastal aquatic ecosystems. It could reduce the water quality. Seaweed, Gracilaria verrucosa, is known of having an ability to absorb Pb in the water. This study aims to determine the ability of G. verrucosa in reducing the concentration of dissolved Pb in the water. Filtered seawater were added with different concentration of Pb, i.e. P1 as a control (without the addition of Pb), P2 (3 ppm of Pb), P3 (6 ppm of Pb) and P4 (11 ppm of Pb). All treatments were done in triplicate. The concentrations of Pb in the seawater and the seaweed were measured by using AAS (Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry) at 0 time (before Pb addition), 5, 10, and 15 days after Pb addition. The average value of the decrease of Pb concentrations were 0.016, 0.125, 0.21, and 0.32 mg L-1 day-1 for P1, P2, P3 and P4, respectively. The concentrations in the seawater are inversely proportional to the average increase of the heavy metal concentrations in G. verrucosa per day. The values were 0.28, 1.79, 2.98, and 4.67 mg L-1 for P1, P2, P3 and P4, respectively. The results suggest that the higher of Pb concentration and the longer of exposure, the more heavy metal that can be absorbed in G. verrucosa thus improving the water quality. © 2017, BIOFLUX SRL. All rights reserved.
Keyword: Biosorption; Heavy metal; Human health; Marine pollution