Spectroscopic analyses for natural microsphere for maximizing its application in the remediation of inorganic pollutants

Project leaders

Paola Grenni, Medhat Ahmed Abdel-khalek Ibrahim

Agreement

EGITTO - NRC - National Research Centre of Egypt

Call

CNR-NRC 2016-2017

Department

Earth system science and environmental technologies

Thematic area

Earth system science and environmental technologies

Status of the project

New

Research proposal

The aquatic plant water hyacinth showed potential use in the remediation of pollutants from aquatic environment [1,2]. In fact, it has a vigorous growth rate and a high tolerance to pollution; its heavy metal and nutrient absorption capacities qualify it for use in wastewater treatment ponds. The application of water hyacinth in effluent treatment is indicating its biosorption capacity for the treatment of wastewater including heavy metals as well as some industrial effluent [3-5]. Moreover, phytoremediation is easy to operate and cost-effective and can convert wastewater nutrients to valuable biomass. Aquatic plants can directly absorb nutrients from wastewater and do not compete with crops for agricultural land. Previous studies have shown that water hyacinth has higher production rate and the best wastewater treatment performance. However, comprehensive comparison, including biomass production, nutrient recovery efficiency and utilization potential of biomass, was not assessed in these studies. Additionally, previous studies show that duckweed has the higher protein (more than 40%), starch content (more than 45%) and lower fibre content than the other aquatic plants, hence providing it with more utilization potential. It is indicated that, carboxyl group plays an important role in the removal of pollutants. Based upon the above considerations, processing of aquatic plant to maximize its benefits could be a key role in the research of controlling and removing inorganic pollutants in the aquatic environment.
Natural microorganisms of water ecosystems play key roles in natural ecosystem functioning, such as primary production, organic matter decomposition, nutrient cycling and natural attenuation, by performing a homeostatic action with exogenous molecules [6] and, consequently, in maintaining ecosystem environmental quality. In fact, the ability of soil and water to recover from chemical contamination is primarily dependent on the presence of a microbial community with the ability to remove it. In this way, the microbial community represents an important key to understanding the impacts of environmental and anthropogenic factors on ecosystems. The presence of an abundant and varied microbial community is a necessary prerequisite for an immediate and effective response to the various natural and anthropic disturbances that can affect an ecosystem [7-9]. For this reason analysing the effects on aquatic environment, and in particular on natural microbial community in treated and un-treated natural water samples, is fundamental for evaluating the environmental side effects of the treatment proposed.
In the present Project, water hyacinths will be utilized in its dry form then mixed with other polymers to form microsphere. This microsphere will be utilized to remove some metals from the wastewater and the mechanism of removal will be described with kinetic work and molecular modelling in order to understand and control the fate of pollutants. Moreover, the possible adverse impacts of the dry form of water hyacinths and the microsphere to the surface aquatic environment with particular regard to natural water microbial communities will be tested. The project will be performed through:
- Production and characterization (FT-IR, SEM, X-Ray Diffraction) of low cost microsphere from natural and cheap resources
- Batch adsorption studies will be conducted on nanocomposites in order to determine their optimum dose and contact time with respect to removal of some heavy metal cations (e.g. Cd II, Pb II)
- A suspended dried water hyacinth matrix will be prepared with suitable polymer as well as cross-linker and the removal of heavy metal capacity of the produced microspheres will be tested
- The effects on aquatic environment will be tested by analyzing the natural microbial community in treated (dry form water hyacinths and the microsphere) and un-treated natural water samples by advanced molecular methods such as Fluorescence in situ hybridization
The production and characterization of microspheres will be carried out by the Egyptian side. Two members will travel to IRSA-CNR whereas they participate with the Italian side in order to test microsphere in order to identify the environmental effects.
The IRSA-CNR team will conduct lab experiments in which the possible adverse impacts of the microsphere together with the dry form of water hyacinths to the surface aquatic environment with particular regard to natural water microbial communities will be assessed. The PI coordinates the experiments and elaborates the microbial results. Two CNR researchers will travel to NRC whereas they participate with the research of the Egyptian side.

Ref
1 M Ibrahim, T Scheytt Increasing the ability of Water hyacinth for removing Cadmium. 2 Int Congress Environmental Planning and Management, 2007 TU-Berlin, Berlin, Germany
2 M Ibrahim, O Kühnc, T Scheytt, Molecular Spectroscopic Study of Water Hyacinth Dry Matter The Open Chemical Physics J 2009 2:1
3 Ahmed MA, El Bahy G S, Ibrahim M. Spectroscopic and electrical study of water hyacinth root. Bull NRC, Egypt 2004; 29:523
4 Ibrahim M, Shaltout AA, Soylak M, Jalbout AF, Kamal D-E, Removal of COOH, Cd and Pb using water hyacinth: FTIR and Flame atomic absorption study, J Iran Chem Soc 2009 6:364
5 Ibrahim M, Osman O. Spectroscopic analysis of cellulose: FTIR and molecular modelling study. J Comput Theor Nanosci 2009, 6:1054
6 Barra Caracciolo A, Topp E, Grenni P 2015 Pharmaceuticals in the environment: Biodegradation and effects on natural microbial communities. A review. J Pharm Biom Anal 106:25
7 Grenni P, Patrolecco L, Ademollo N, Di Lenola M, Barra Caracciolo A 2014 Environ Sci Poll Res 21:13470
8 Barra Caracciolo A, Bottoni P, Grenni P 2013 Microchem J 107:126
9 Grenni P, Gibello A, Barra Caracciolo A, Fajardo C, Nande M, Vargas R, Saccà ML, Martinez-Iñigo MJ, Ciccoli R, Martín M 2009 Water Res 43:2999

Research goals

The reuse of the sewage water could solved and/or compensate the improving of water demand. One of the limitations is the presence of several pollutants, mainly heavy metals. This in turn makes the process of sewage water treatment more expensive and needs extra efforts. One of the recommended methods to overcome this problem is the use of plants (phytoremediation) for treatment. The objective of the project is to prepare novel ionic microsphere with enhanced heavy metal adsorption capacity from the industrial wastewater and to test the remediation capacity of natural plants (e.g. water hyacinth) together with these microsphere. The project will be implemented through:
- Production of low cost microsphere from natural and cheap resources
- Testing maximum or ultimate capacity for removal of heavy metals of the produced microsphere, evaluating their effectiveness for metals recovery and investigate their reproducibility
- Assessment of the side effects on aquatic environment by analyzing the natural microbial community in natural water samples treated and un-treated with the dry form water hyacinths and the prepared microsphere.
- Maximizing the application of such natural microsphere by minimizing and/or elimination of its possible adverse impacts
This project introduces possible cooperation between scientific teams from both countries. The project will introduce Italian-Egyptian expertise in the field of wastewater treatment to utilize natural resources.

Last update: 08/06/2025