Abstract

Phytoremediation is the most favorable green option for remediation of the contaminated benthic lake sludge with heavy metal toxins (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn) using plants with extraction, stabilization, and hyper accumulation. This paper presents the investigations carried out on a benthic lake sludge to estimate the heavy metal uptake capacity of plant Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) up to 81 days of plant growth. It was found that the metal uptake by plants is observed to be much higher in roots than the shoots. Phytoremediation potential of the plant Alfalfa was evaluated in the terms of the Bio concentration factor (BCF) and Translocation factor (TCF). The Bio concentration factor in Alfalfa reveals that the BCF of roots value is higher than the shoots except for Fe at 51 days of plant growth. The Translocation factor is less than 1 for all treatments of sludge soil blend on various plant growth period such as 21 days, 51 days and 81 days except Fe metal showing value >1 at 51 days of plant growth. Hence from the above studies, the Phytoremediation potential of Alfalfa plant on benthic sludge and their suitability is assessed.