Revista internacional de recursos de desecho

Abstracto

Phytoremediation Method for Removal of Selected Heavy Metals from Pharmaceutical Effluent

Abdulshekur Ahmed

Pharmaceutical effluents are wastes generated by pharmaceutical industries during the process of drugs manufacturing. Their risk to human health and environmental species cannot be overemphasized. Phytoremediation technologies are becoming recognized as cost- effective methods for remediating sites contaminated with toxic metals. The phytoremediation of lead, Cadmium, Nickel, Cr(VI) and Copper from pharmaceutical waste water by the Aloe vera plant cultivated in the soil can be consider as a suitable hyper-accumulator by its relatively large ratio of biomass concentration of the contaminant to soil concentrations. The algae have many features that make them ideal candidates for the selective removal and concentration of heavy metals, which include high tolerance to heavy metals, ability to grow both autotrophically and heterotrophically, large surface area/volume ratios, phototaxy, phytochelatin expression and potential for genetic manipulation. Our current critical review of algal species removal of Lead, Cadmium, Nickel, Cr(VI) and Copper from pharmaceutical waste water indicated that Given their abundance in various environmental systems, their adaptability to different environmental conditions, and their ability to accumulate large amounts of heavy metals, algae appear to be the most appropriate microorganism for monitoring pollution of water resources by heavy metals.