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. 2009 Jun 28;15(2):175–180. doi: 10.1007/s12298-009-0020-z

Reclamation of tannery polluted soil through phytoremediation

V Sakthivel 1,✉, M Vivekanandan 2
PMCID: PMC3550371  PMID: 23572927

Abstract

The huge volume of sludge emanating from the tannery effluent treatment plants poses a serious environmental problem. Phytoremediation is an emerging technology in which the plants are employed to reclamate the contaminated soil strewn with heavy metals (metalloids) and toxic compounds. This work focuses the impact of application of tannery sludge on biochemical properties of 6 months old tree saplings of Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Neem), Melia azedarach Linn. (Wild Neem) and Leucaena leucocephala (Lam) de Wit (Subabool) raised over the tannery sludge in an attempt to use these plants for phytoremediation. The plants raised over the garden soil served as the control. The porosity and water holding capacity of the tannery sludge were higher. The plant growth supporting elements such as Ca, total N2, NO3 and Mg were higher in the sludge. The plants raised over the sludge were found to be dark green with increased morphometric parameters. Electrophoretic profile revealed amplification of a few polypeptides (100, 105, 49 and 55 KDa). The levels of biomolecules and the CO2 absorption increased in 6 months old plants. There was a significant uptake and transport of chromium in all the three tree species suggesting that these plants could be employed in phytoremediation of soils contaminated with heavy metals.

Key words: Azadirachta indica (Neem), CO2 uptake, Leucaena leucocephala (Subabool), Melia azedarach (Wild Neem), metalloids, Phytoremediation, Stress biomolecules, Tannery sludge

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