Assessment of Phycoremediation Efficiency of Spirogyra Maxima by using Heavy Metals Manganese and Lead

Abstract

Heavy metals are non-degradable pollutants and must be removed or reduced to acceptable limits before discharging into the environment to avoid threats to living organisms. This study was carried out to assess Manganese and Lead removal efficiency of the Spirogyra maxima isolated from ponds. The heavy metal removal capacity of the algal species was investigated for the period of 30 days at room temperature (28±20C) and regular light. The percentage Manganese removal on day 30 by Spirogyra species was 76.81% and the percentage removal of the lead is above 90%. In the present study, the capacities of live green algae, Spirogyra maxima were evaluated for toxic heavy metals, Pb, Mn from water bodies. The study examines the possibility of using live Spirogyra to biologically remove aqueous Lead and Manganese of low concentration from waste water. These algae proved that efficient biological vectors for heavy metal uptake.