High methylmercury uptake by green algae in Lake Titicaca: Potential implications for remediation.

Anthropogenic pressure in the high altitude lakes such as Titicaca and Uru (Bolivia) may favor the production of methylmercury (MeHg) known to accumulate in trophic chains. Periphyton associated with emerged aquatic plants (totoras) from the lake shores accumulates and demethylates MeHg providing a potential cost-effective water treatment technique. In this laboratory study, we measured the MeHg uptake kinetics of a consortium of green algae isolated from Lake Titicaca totora's periphyton. The most abundant algal consortium, composed of Oedogonium spp., Chlorella spp., Scenedesmus spp., was exposed to rising MeHg concentrations (from 5 to 200 ng·L-1) to assess their maximum potential capacity for MeHg accumulation. Various algal biomass concentrations were tested to choose the optimal one. Results provided a net MeHg uptake rate by this algal consortium of 2.38 amol ng-1·h-1·nM-1 (the total uptake was 2863 ng MeHg·g-1) for an initial concentration of 200 ng MeHg·L-1 with an algal biomass concentration of 0.02 g·L-1. This initial MeHg concentration is 1000 times higher than the one measured in the eutrophic Cohana Bay of Lake Titicaca, which shows the high accumulation potential of these green algae. Our data suggest that periphyton has a high potential for the treatment of Hg contaminated waters in constructing wetlands in the Andean Altiplano.

Adsorption of cadmium by a high-capacity adsorbent composed of silicate-titanate nanotubes embedded in hydrogel chitosan beads.

In this study, we developed a nanoparticle-based mesoporous composite that consisted of silicate-titanate nanotubes (STNTs) supported in hydrogel chitosan beads (STNTs-Ch beads) and was studied for Cd2+ adsorption. By using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy coupled to an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer, we could determine that the hollow STNTs were highly dispersed in the walls of the hollow beads. The dispersion was attributed to the effect of pH when the composite was prepared and we observed a non-interaction between STNTs and chitosan. The adsorption studies of Cd2+ showed that the kinetic rate (k 2) increased 3-fold and that the diffusion rate (K d) increased 2-fold after the embedment. Moreover, the maximum capacity of adsorption of STNTs-Ch beads was 2.3 times higher than that of STNTs alone. The treatment of a synthetic Cd2+ solution and a real leachate in continuous mode showed two phases in which it was observed higher removed fractions of transition metal ions (Cd2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Zn2+ and Cu2+) and the post-transition metal ion Pb2+, in comparison to the removed fractions of alkali and alkali-earth metal ions (Ca2+, K+, Mg2+). The composite was successfully reused four times when adsorbing Cd2+, saving three times the needed amounts of TiO2, SiO2 and chitosan for the production of the material. This composite was produced in a simple way and shows the potential for wastewater treatment.