Re: Can Hydroponics Clean Polluted Lake Water?

Can Hydroponics Clean Polluted Lake Water?

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants in nutrient mineral medium which
is devoid of soil and contains gravel, mineral wool etc. 
This is a new development in the field of plant biology. In terms of
remediation of lake water, it is advisable to use specific plants which
grow on nutrients present in polluted lake waters. In this case one should
primarily do the water analysis in order to understand the pollutants and
grow specific plants which can absorb / adsorb the nutrients and pollutants
present in lake waters. Reports on the use of floating Jancus effuses and
other wetland plants for the removal of heavy metals such as Arsenic. In
this case the roots contain higher concentration of metals as compared to
other parts of the plant. 

I suggest you to select a model plant for the remediation of pollutants
from water as mentioned above. You can prepare a glass or plastic column/
container of suitable height and fill it with gravels and polluted water.
Allow growth of the plant material in the column by supplementing with
additional medium for growth if required. If the plant grows well on
polluted waters alone it would be excellent. This would be an excellent
science fair project.

Another method of interest is the use of microorganisms which is followed
traditionally for the remediation of contaminated waters. Few of the
examples are the use of a marine yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica which is an
isolate growing on polluted sea waters. It is extensively used for
remediation of polluted hydrocarbons, heavy metals etc. There are numerous
reports on microorganisms known to degrade pollutants contaminating soil,
water and other systems. 

All the best for your Science fair.
In case of more information you can contact me at
microbesinaction@yahoo.co.in or through MadSci helpdesk.

References:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroponics
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/hydroponic-grow-shop-fresh-vegetables-
anywhere-806395.html