Phytoremediation of waste dumping site soil and landfill leachate by using cattail ().

In this study, cattail () was used to remove Na and Cl from polluted soil (PS) in a solid waste open dumping site. Hydroponic system was also evaluated to remove Na and Cl from landfill leachate. The results indicated that the cattail grown in PS had higher biomass yield of 44.4 ± 3.29 g compared to that of control (35.3 ± 4.28 g). Nitrogen and phosphorous contents of cattails grown in PS were also higher than that of control plants, and the electrical conductivity of PS significantly decreased from 245 ± 1.40 to 51.9 ± 9.30 ms/m over the 5-week experimental duration. Na and Cl contents from cattail grown on PS were 10.8 ± 1.85 and 64.7 ± 9.15 g/kg biomass, respectively. For cattails grown hydroponically in water containing leachate, nitrogen and phosphorous accumulation was 51.1 ± 5.94 and 9.32 ± 3.22 g/kg biomass, respectively. The corresponding biomass yield of these cattails was 13.5 ± 1.29 g at the end of 5 weeks. In addition, the Na and Cl accumulation of 55.5 ± 4.82 and 78.2 ± 28.3 g/Kg biomass, respectively, was higher in hydroponic cattails grown in this study. Overall, the results suggest the effectiveness of cattails for phytoremediation of contaminated soil and the high efficiency of hydroponic system for nutrient and salinity removal compared to the conventional soil test.