Phytoremediation of Bamboo Reinforced Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.

as a River Cleaning System

I. Background of the Study

Throwing garbage in the river, a significant source of water pollution has

been contributing to the world’s problem. There may also some harmful

substances present such as heavy metals, spreading from the rivers to our

society. After a certain amount of time, these toxics will be found as a culprit

of many environmental problems and especially different health problems.

There are several kinds of heavy metal found in the environment. One of

them is mercury. This element causes problems because it is toxic to the

nervous system, particularly the developing nervous system of a fetus or

young child. A long term illness caused by cadmium, another heavy metal, is

lung cancer, kidney diseases and also causes bones to become fragile and

break easily. There are many who acquires cancers, brain damage and

kidney problems, which were caused by the heavy metals. In many ways,

these diseases are more troubling than outright death as they harm a person

slowly over a period of making life increasingly life difficult.

On the other hand, there are many studies about reducing these heavy

metals and this includes phytoremediation where a certain plant is used to

absorb, reduce or remove contaminants. Example of these plants are

mustard greens, pumpkin vines, ferns, cabbages and sunflower.

 Sunflower is capable of dealing with lead and zinc nitrate, and is used in

absorbing radioactive metals near the Chernobyl nuclear site in the Ukraine

and uranium plant in Ohio. Commonly used species of sunflower in

phytoremediation are “Titonia diversifolia” and “Helianthus annuus”. Locally

here in the Philippines, “Helianthus annuus” sunflowers are more abundant

than the other.

As problems are arising, as the years passes by, the medicine itself

adjusts and increases its price. Due to these reasons, the researchers were

encouraged to perceive a design of a useful and relatively simple cleaning

system. This will serve as a filter for rivers that would possibly reduce the

heavy metals present in the water such that it will help to degrade water

pollution. The development and evaluationof this product is the focus of this

study.

II. Statement of the Problem

With all tragedies due to such unbearable water pollution and through

thousands of lives harmed with this, the researchers thought of a simple

tool that would serve as a river cleaner. Generally, this study aims to

produce an alternative toxic sponge that absorbs heavy metals by using

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.).

1. What is the amount in percent of the heavy metals present in

the sample river water using the device?

2. What is the amount in percent of the heavy metals present in

the sample river water without using the device?

III. Hypothesis

Null Hypothesis (Ho):

1. There is no significant difference before and after using the device in

terms of amount of heavy metals present.

Alternative Hypothesis (Ha):

2. There is a significant difference before and after using the device in

terms of amount of heavy metals present.

IV. Review of Related Literature

Water is essential for all living things. That is why we should keep

our water resources clean. Our water forms are slowly being polluted

because of the people throwing garbage in the streams and the chemical

deposits from factories. Water pollution is a major problem in our

environment for a long time so many are creating methods to reduce the

damages it causes. Every plants used in phytoremediation has their own

heavy metals that can be absorbed. It does not matter for the plants if the

heavy metal is found in soil or water. The different varieties of these plants

helps reduce the toxic metals present in both land an water. (Mojiri, et al.,

2013).

The phytoremediation is the use of varieties of plants to absorb,

reduce, or remove contaminants present in the soil and water. The reason

why the plants used in phytoremediation can absorb these contaminants

is because they tend to accumulate more heavy metals than other plants.
V. Methodology

A. Collection of Raw Materials

The raw materials to be used are the sunflowers and bamboos. Four to six

pieces of sunflowers are to be collected on Perfect Touch Flower Shop in Tejero,

General Trias, Cavite. Three-meter length of bamboo are to be collected at

Talipusngo, Maragondon, Cavite.

B. Sample Specimen

The specimen to be used in this study is river water. Three to five liters of

river water is collected at the Mabacao River, that is found at Tulay B,

Maragondon, Cavite.

C. General Procedure

1. Materials/ Equipment

The materials that will be needed to conduct the study are

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), Bamboo (Bambusa spinosa), river

water, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry or ICP-MS and

some gardening materials.

2. Construction of the product

To come up with the river cleaning system, the sunflowers

are planted on a plant box surrounded by bamboo. The plant box is

18 in long, 12 in wide, and 5 in high. The bamboo surrounding the

box should have gaps so that the river water can be seeped by the

sunflowers inside the plant box. The plant box should be removable

in place in case of increase of the water level of the river.

3. Testing of the product

A sample of river water is taken from Mabacao river. With

the use of Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry or ICP-

MS, the water is tested of the concentration of heavy metals. Every

concentration of heavy metals are converted into percentage of all

heavy metals in the river water. The device is used to the sample

river water and after a certain amount of time, the sample water is

tested again. Determine again the concentration of the heavy

metals and compare from the first test. Classify which heavy metals

reduced more than the other heavy metals and how much did they

reduced.
4. Statistical Analysis

One-way ANOVA will be used to determine the significant

difference of the concentration of heavy metals before the

experiment and after the experiment.

5. Data Gathering Method

The data to be gathered will be conducted from a certain

facility that have Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry or

ICP-MS to determine the concentration of every heavy metal

present in the sample river water. Using this method will be able to

provide answers to the questions and evaluate the outcomes.

Prepare the needed materials such as the sample river

water, the river cleaning system and the ICP-MS.

a. Put the sample river water on a container. The ICP-MS is

used to determine the concentration of the heavy metals

present in the river water.

b. After using the finished product on the river water tested

on (a), the water is tested again to know the changes it

had after being exposed to the river cleaning system

 6. Proposed Table

Table 1: Test 1 Results

Heavy Metals Concentration Percentage

Lead %

Mercury %

Zinc %

Cadmium %

Cesium %

Uranium %

Nickel %

Total: 100%

Table 2: Test 2 Results

Heavy Metals Concentration Percentage

Lead %

Mercury %

Zinc %

Cadmium %

Cesium %

Uranium %
Nickel %

Total: 100%

Table 3: Comparison of Results

Heavy Metals Concentration Concentration Change of

(Test 1) (Test 2) Concentrations

Lead

Mercury

Zinc

Cadmium

Cesium

Uranium

Nickel

Total:
 FLOWCHART

Listing of materials

Purchasing of Materials

Preparation of Materials and

Equipments

Designing of the Device

Construction of the Device

With Using the Testing Without Using

Device the Device
VI. Bibliography

A. Related Studies (International)

Prof. Jogi, N.G., Dambhare, A., Golekar, K., Giri, A., & Take, S. (2016). Efficient lake

garbage collector by using pedal operated boat. Retrieved from

http://www.ijrter.com/papers/volume-2/issue-4/efficient-lake-garbage-

collector-by-using-pedal-operated-boat.pdf

Sainath, U.N, Shridhar, K., Vijay, B., & Siddarth, K. (n.d.) Aqua drone remote

controlled unmanned river cleaning bot. Retrieved from

http://www.kscst.iisc.ernet.in/spp/41_series/40S_awarded_&_selected_projs_

further_devpt/40S_BE_1930.pdf

Salehzadeh, A., Naeemi, A.S., & Arasteh, A. (2014). Biodiesel production from

Azolla filiculoides (water fern). Retrieved from

https://www.ajol.info/index.php/tjpr/article/view/107718

Sheikh Md Shahid Md Rafique, Dr. Langde, A. (2017). Design and fabrication of

river cleaning system. Retrieved from

http://ijsart.com/Content/PDFDocuments/IJSARTV3I1117780.pdf

Sinha, A., Bhardwaj, P., Vaibhav, B., Mohommad, N. (2014). Research and

development of Ro-Boat: An autonomous river cleaning robot. Retrieved from

https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-

spie/9025/90250Q/Research-and-development-of-Ro-boat--an-autonomous-

river/10.1117/12.2037898.short
B. Related Studies (local)

Andal, F.A., & Ching, J.A. (2014). Phytoremediation potential of tomato

(lycopersicon esculentum mill) in artificially contaminated soils. Retrieved

from

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dlsu.edu.ph%2Fconfer

ences%2Fdlsu_research_congress%2F2014%2F_pdf%2Fproceedings%2FS

EE-II-011-FT.pdf&h=AT1SL5g9vN41-

OZvD5hC_04dc2VWssLXza4lt0rr9tGdeQFWw0oWPEPU5t8whhFSNvsiIgBsv

1NiBBbQocmzF5tslLEwn6AF5M3cmHQVTCy9r2-

wyQfMuJa70EWvxkYGkirpdQ

Sigua, G.C. (2011). Assessing of phytoremediation potentials of selected tropical

plants for acrylamide. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225506576_Assessing_phytoremedi

ation_potentials_of_selected_tropical_plants_for_acrylamide

Paz-Alberto, A.M., Vizmonte, J.L.D., & Sigua, G.C. (2015). Assessing diversity and

phytoremediation potential of mangroves for copper contaminated sediments

in Subic Bay, Philippines. Retrieved from

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ijpaes.com%2Fadmin

%2Fphp%2Fuploads%2F865_pdf.pdf&h=AT1SL5g9vN41-

OZvD5hC_04dc2VWssLXza4lt0rr9tGdeQFWw0oWPEPU5t8whhFSNvsiIgBsv

1NiBBbQocmzF5tslLEwn6AF5M3cmHQVTCy9r2-

wyQfMuJa70EWvxkYGkirpdQ
Sigua, G.C. (2007). Phytoremediation potentials of selected tropical plants for

ethidium bromides. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5786717_Phytoremediation_potenti

alp_of_selected_tropical_plants_for_Ethidium_bromide

Upovpaa (2015). Filipino Scientists discover new plant species with great

phytoremediation potential. Retrieved from http://ovpaa.up.edu.ph/filipino-

scientists-discover-new-plant-species-with-great-phytoremediation-potential/

C. Articles

A natural method of river restoration (n.d.) Clean Flo: Cleaning Water Biologically

since 1970, https://www.clean-flo.com/systems/river-restoration/

Clean rivers project (n.d.) DC: Water is Life, https://www.dcwater.com/clean-rivers-

project

Doran, P.M. (2009). Application of plant tissue cultures in phytoremediation

research: Incentives and limitations. Retrieved from

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bit.22280

Guerinot, M.L., & Salt. D.E. (2001). Fortified foods and phytoremediation. Two sides

of the same coins. Retrieved from

http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/125/1/164.short

Jingzhou, L. (2016). Cleaning up China’s polluted Pearl River. Retrieved from

http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2016/05/26/cleaning-up-china-polluted-

pearl-river

Ruiz, O.N., Hussein, O.H., Terry N., & Daniell, H. (2003). Phytoremediation of

organomercurial compounds via chloroplast genetic engineering. Retrieved

from http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/132/3/1344
Sakakibara, M., Ohmori, Y., Hoang-Ha, N.T., Sano, S., & Sera, K. (2011).

Phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated water and sediments of

Eleocharis ecicularis. Retrieved from

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/clen.201000488

Storm water technology helps clean up Malaysia River (2013, June) Water World,

ttps://www.waterworld.com/articles/2013/06/stormwater-technology-helps-

clean-up-malaysia-river.html

Trapp, S., & Karlson, U. (2001). Aspect of phytoremediation of organic pollutants.

Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02986468

Vyas, K.G. (2016). Rivers: Not just clean them, revive them. Retrieved from

http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/rivers-not-just-clean-them-revive-them