Experimental study and modelling of Cr (VI) removal from wastewater using Lemna minor.

The removal of Cr(VI) from wastewater by Lemna minor was studied both at laboratory and pilot scale. Laboratory tests were conducted under different conditions of initial Cr(VI) concentration (0.5 and 2.0 mg/l) and temperature (285 and 291 K). Batch experiments were carried out during 16 days in which the chromium concentrations, both in the biomass and in wastewater were measured. Data were used to characterize the biouptake capacity of the biomass; results showed that it increases with the temperature and when the initial Cr concentration decreases. The biouptake process could be fitted by an equation, with a correlation coefficient of 0.98. The removal process was assessed using the data of the variation of chromium concentration in the wastewater with respect to time; this allowed obtaining constant parameters which were applied in a mathematical model for the assessment of duckweed systems in a pilot scale plant.