Biosorption of copper ions with olive pomace and walnut shell.

The removal of copper ions, from synthetic solutions, using walnut shell and olive pomace waste as biosorbents was studied. Synthetic copper solutions were used, and the contact time, initial pH, biosorbent dose, and initial concentration of copper ions were evaluated. The used particle size of both biosorbents was inferior to 600 µm.

Uptake of Cu, Hg, and As in wild vegetation, associated to surface water in the Copiapó valley, before the 2015 alluvium.

In an annual monitoring in the Copiapó valley, the concentration of Cu, Hg, and As in sediments was related to environmental transfer processes, these elements also being present in surface water. The goal was to evaluate the uptake of the mentioned elements in wild plants of the Copiapó Valley, to determine if these species could be indicator plants to prevent environmental risks in local agriculture. From the same monitoring, the uptake of the elements was determined in wild plants growing near the irrigation channels; canopy of Tessaria absinthioides, Equisetum giganteum, Arundo donax, Melilotus indicus, Cortaderia rudiscula, and Sarcocornia neei was analyzed for the same elements.