DECREASE AND INCREASE PROFILE OF CU, CR AND PB DURING STABLE PHASE OF REMOVAL BY DUCKWEED (LEMNA MINOR L.)

The present work details the decrease-increase profiles of Cu, Cr, and Pb by the aquatic plant Lemna minor. A mixture of these metals were utilized at different concentrations. Removal profiles of each metal was determined with water samples taken every 24 h for a 144 h period after the 48 h mark and was examined with correlation analysis. Removal profiles of Cr and Pb by L. minor from the mixture were observed to be highly similar with each other (r = 0.943). High proportion of Cr and Pb were removed compared to Cu and removal equations were defined with the aid of regression analysis.