IDENTIFYING AND ADDING VALUE TO THE BIOMASS PRODUCED FROM THE PROCESS OF PHYTOREMEDIATION

Anthropogenic activities have produced many polluted sites around the world and have negatively impacted water, soil, and food resources. This pollution has resulted in a variety of human and ecosystem health problems. This project was conducted in Zambia, which has a history of harmful mining practices for the mining of copper and lead. These practices have produced waste that is contaminated with heavy metals that can persist in the environment for a very long time and can be harmful to humans in relatively small quantities. This research project focused on the use of phytoremediation in the contaminated areas. Phytoremediation uses plants to uptake the heavy metals within different parts of the biomass which can then be removed and disposed of properly. This process produces large amounts of biomass that is considered hazardous material and therefore requires proper care for disposal or use after performing remediation. Therefore, this research sought to answer two questions; what are some plants that perform heavy metal removal within Zambia, and how can their biomass be used in a valuable way? Preliminary results found that Tithonia diversifolia was a common plant throughout the region that could take up lead and copper to levels greater than 1000 mg/Kg within its leaves. In seeking to answer the second part of this research, a biodigester is being used to convert the biomass into usable biogas and liquid fertilizer; the partitioning of the metals within the biodigester will then be studied.