Journal
WATER RESEARCH
Volume 37, Issue 2, Pages 441-449Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/S0043-1354(02)00291-9
Keywords
ethylene dibromide; 1,2-dibromoethane; trichloroethylene; phytoremediation; Leuceana leucocephala
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Ethylene dibromide (EDB; dibromoethane) and trichloroethylene (TCE) are hazardous environmental pollutants. The use of plants to treat polluted sites and groundwater, termed phytoremediation, requires plants that can both effectively remove the pollutant as well as grow in the climatic region of the site. In this paper. we report that the tropical leguminous tree, Leuceana leticocephala var. K636, is able to take up and metabolize EDB and TCE. The plants were grown in sterile hydroponic solution without its symbiont, Rhizobium. EDB and TCE were both metabolized by the plant, as indicated by the formation of bromide ion from EDB and trichloroethanol from TCE. Each plant organ was independently capable of debromination of EDB. L. leucocephala is being used to treat perched groundwater as part of a remedial alternative to address an accidental EDB spill in Hawaii. Bromide levels of plant tissues from the trees grown in the phytoremediation treatment cells at the Hawaii Site were elevated. indicating uptake and degradation of brominated compounds in the trees. This report is the first evidence of a tropical tree effectively metabolizing these common organic pollutants. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available