Environ Sci Pollut Res (2016) 23:10630–10643 DOI 10.1007/s11356-016-6329-6 REVIEW ARTICLE The capacity of aquatic macrophytes for phytoremediation and their disposal with specific reference to water hyacinth Solomon W. Newete1 & Marcus J. Byrne1,2 Received: 23 September 2015 /Accepted: 19 February 2016 /Published online: 27 February 2016 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016 Abstract The actual amount of fresh water readily accessible Keywords Tailings dam . Macrophytes . Decomposition . for use is <1 % of the total amount of water on earth, and is Pollution . Phytoremediation . Safe disposal expected to shrink further due to the projected growth of the population by a third in 2050. Worse yet are the major issues of water pollution, including mining and industrial waste Introduction which account for the bulk of contamination sources. The use of aquatic macrophytes as a cost-effective and eco- Water is the source of life and has no substitute. Considering friendly tool for phytoremediation is well documented. that our planet is 70 % covered by water, it is a shock to realize However, little is known about the fate of those plants after that the actual amount of fresh water readily accessible for phytoremediation. This paper reviews the options for safe dis- human use in the world is <1 % (Postel et al. 1996). posal of waste plant biomass after phytoremediation. Among Currently a third of the world’s population lives under water the few mentioned in the literature are briquetting, incinera- stress and the future is bleak as the figure is expected to double tion and biogasification. The economic viability of such pro- by 2025 at the current rate of water consumption (Arnell cesses and the safety of their economic products for domestic 1999). Furthermore, water scarcity is also likely to increase use are however, not yet established. Over half of the nations due to the impacts of climate change (Arnell 2004). It is there- in the world are involved in mining of precious metals, and fore, imperative that we pay the utmost attention to manage- tailings dams are the widespread legacy of such activities. ment and conservation of our renewable surface waters which Thus, the disposal of polluted plant biomass onto mine storage will remain the main source of domestic and agricultural water facilities such as tailing dams could be an interim solution. supplies, particularly in developing countries. While deter- There, the material can act as mulch for the establishment of mining the sources of water pollution and preventing them stabilizing vegetation and suppress dust. Plant decomposition from reaching our water stores has to be the focal point of might liberate its contaminants, but in a site where contain- any solution, cleaning water by conventional means (chemi- ment is a priority. cal, physical and biological) or by phytoremediation is inevi- tably becoming more important. Conventional methods are however, often less cost-effective and less eco-friendly than Responsible editor: Elena Maestri phytoremediation where plants are used to remove contami- nants from soil or water (Ahluwalia and Goyal 2007). * Solomon W. Newete [email protected] Nevertheless, despite increased public interest in the method, particularly in the last three decades (Henry 2000), its practical use is curtailed by a number of factors, among which is the 1 School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of fate of the phytoremediating plants after use which about little the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa is known. This review investigates the use of aquatic macro- 2 Centre for Invasion Biology, School of Animal, Plant and phytes in phytoremediation and options for their safe disposal Environmental Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, after the process of phytoremediation. Special reference to Johannesburg 2050, South Africa water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms- Environ Sci Pollut Res (2016) 23:10630–10643 10631 Laubach is made because of its wide distribution and reputa- quality as a result of acid mine drainage from abandoned coal tion as an invasive weed, in contrast to its ability to remove mines (Sheer et al. 1982). Acid mine drainage directly con- pollutants from water. taminates a total of 700 km of streams and rivers and more than 2300 ha of lakes and reservoirs in the USA (Cohen Sources of water pollution 2006). Similarly, the rapidly declining surface and ground water quality as a result of effluents and decants from aban- While water pollution also occurs through natural physical doned mines in Gauteng and the North West Provinces (South weathering of geological structures and leaching by runoff, Africa) has raised alarms over the last five years (van Eeden et the water pollution that results from a number of anthropogen- al. 2009). The gold mines in the West Rand and Far West rand ic activities such as mining, industrial and agricultural prac- near Johannesburg, alone discharge an estimated 50 tonnes of tices is unprecedented and remains a major issue of concern uranium annually into the receiving surface water courses (Sood et al. 2012). Disposal of untreated sewage and effluents (Coetzee et al. 2006). into surface water is still the norm in many countries (Ismail While water scarcity problems continue to rise as a factor and Beddri 2009). Globally, an estimated 80 % of used water of increasing world population and unpredicted impacts of is neither collected nor treated and is simply discharged into global climate change, industrial and mining waste effluents our waterways (Corcoran et al. 2010). The water bodies in the remain the main concern of governments and environmental- state of Lagos in Nigeria are used as waste water reservoirs by ists in water related issues. Thus, while increasing our water the nearby medium and large scale industries (Anetekhai et al. use efficiency and reducing our domestic and economic foot- 2007). Both organic and inorganic contaminants of water from prints on water resources is of immense importance and a such activities put all aquatic life and human health at risk and matter of urgency, implementing an effective remediation particularly threaten developing countries, where between 75 technology in the abatement of water pollutants could make and 90 % of their populations are exposed to unsafe drinking an important contribution to water security. water (Sood et al. 2012). The common contaminants include heavy metals, radionuclides, nitrates, phosphates, inorganic Conventional methods of remediation acids and organic chemicals (Arthur et al. 2005). The water pollutants of major concern are the heavy metals such as lead, A wide range of traditional methods for treating industrial and arsenic, cadmium, mercury, chromium, and thallium, due to mine wastewaters are used to remove both organic and inor- their non-biodegradability and persistence in the environment. ganic contaminants before their discharge into receiving wa- These share a high level of toxicity to aquatic organisms (e.g. tercourses. Ion exchange, reverse osmosis and electro-dialysis copper) and carcinogenic or neurotoxic effects to humans (e.g. are used to remove nitrates from contaminated waters lead and mercury) even at low concentrations (Sood et al. (Shrimali and Singh 2001). The same methods are also used 2012). in removal of heavy metals from water in addition to other Mining is by far the biggest source of heavy metal contam- methods such as chemical precipitation, coagulation-floccula- inants of the environment for many countries involved in such tion, floatation, ultrafiltration, activated carbon adsorption, activities and particularly in developing countries (Kalin et al. and solvent extraction (Kurniawan et al. 2006). The effective- 2006). The issue of acid mine drainage (AMD) is at the centre ness of each of these remediation methods however, depends of ecological problems associated with mining and it affects on a number of factors, among which are the type and the about 70 % of the world’s mining sites (Global Capital concentration of the pollutants in the target solution. Heavy Magazine 2008). AMD is formed when metal sulphides (e.g. metals such as zinc, cadmium and manganese can be pyrites) from mining solid wastes rocks are exposed to water completely removed by chemical precipitation using lime and oxygen which results in dissolved metals and H2SO4 that treatments (Charerntanyarak 1999). The same method howev- cause a low pH (<4) in the tailings environment. er, does not achieve complete removal of lead, or mercury Consequently this leads to leaching and increased metal mo- contaminant from water unless pre- or follow-up treatments bility from mine tailings (Dudka and Adriano 1997). The (e.g. reducing the solution with soda ash or sodium sulphide) AMD crisis in the province of Gauteng (South Africa) has are implemented (Dean et al. 1972). been one such issue of environmental pollution over the last Like many other techniques the traditional remediation decade with AMD flooding the western basins of the methods have some limitations. Complete removal of con- Witwatersrand (McCarthy 2010). In Papua New Guinea, con- taminants is not achievable by most methods (Dean et al. taminated mine wastes from the Ok Tedi, Porgera and 1972) and the massive amount of sludge and other residues Tolukuma mines are discharged directly into local rivers generated in the process of mine effluent treatment raises (Christmann and Stolojan 2001). The upper North Branch of the issue of their safe disposal