ABSTRACT
One unique and important capability of water hyacinth to remediate polluted water is the removal of heavy metals including lead, chromium, cadmium, mercury and harmful organic compounds such as detergents, pesticides, gasoline additives, hormones, pharmaceuticals and personal-care products, as well as metalloid pollutants such as arsenic. Given that the conventional sewage treatment techniques could not effectively remove them, a majority of heavy metals and organic pollutants are directly discharged into lakes, reservoirs and rivers, thus causing large scale water pollution. It is notable that heavy metals could be readily concentrated in living organisms through the food chain, potentially reaching ten thousands to hundred thousand times the original concentrations and may finally enter into human body and negatively impact human health. Industrial wastewater: most heavy metals that represent a threat to human health originate from wastewater discharged by industrial and mining enterprises.
