This work was conducted to develop a suitable kinetic model for the removal of zinc (Zn) using the duckweed Lemna gibba L. as a phytoremediation agent at laboratory scale. The 7-day treatments of 6.0–18.0 mg Zn/L were performed under controlled conditions: 12 h photoperiod, temperature of 21±1 °C, pH of 6.0±0.1 and a quarter Coïc and Lesaint solution as a culture medium. The results revealed a Zn removal efficiency of 60–70% and an accumulation capacity of plants ranging from 4.23 to 25.88 mg/g DM. Two simplified kinetic models namely pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order were used to study the mechanism that controls the biological process. The kinetic study proved that the removal rate of Zn by L. gibba was proportional to the Zn concentration present in water. Therefore, the pseudo-first-order model was considered to be more suitable to describe the disappearance of Zn from water in the presence of fronds of L. gibba L. These results may serve as a basis in mathematical modelling for large-scale application.
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Research Article|
September 01 2012
Development of a kinetic model for the removal of zinc using the aquatic macrophyte, Lemna gibba L.
N. Khellaf;
1Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Badji Mokhtar University, P.O. Box 12, 23000 Annaba, Algeria
E-mail: khellafdaas@yahoo.fr
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M. Zerdaoui
M. Zerdaoui
1Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Badji Mokhtar University, P.O. Box 12, 23000 Annaba, Algeria
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Water Sci Technol (2012) 66 (5): 953–957.
Article history
Received:
September 20 2011
Accepted:
April 10 2012
Citation
N. Khellaf, M. Zerdaoui; Development of a kinetic model for the removal of zinc using the aquatic macrophyte, Lemna gibba L.. Water Sci Technol 1 September 2012; 66 (5): 953–957. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2012.262
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