Toxic heavy metal pollution of water is a major environmental problem and the current remediation approaches are not optimal as they are non-eco-friendly and lacking in efficiency. As such phytoremediation, a green remediation technology is recognized as a better approach. In this study, both Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and Inductive Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) were used to investigate the capability of an aquatic plant, water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) to remove heavy metals of lead, copper, cadmium and arsenic from aqueous solution at concentrations of 2 mg/L and 8 mg/L. Overall, the results showed that the uptake was rapid with the plants removing >80% of all the heavy metals at both concentrations. This uptake was proven by the detection of metal accumulation in plant tissues. Roots proved to be better accumulator than leaves. Maximum bioconcentration factor values indicating that the plant is a hyperaccumulator for lead and a moderate accumulator for the other heavy metals. Ligands such as O–H, C–O, C–C and C–H were found to aid the plant in accumulating heavy metal in its tissues. This study concludes that water hyacinth can be utilized as a phytoremediation agent to clean up heavy metal polluted water.

有毒的重金属污染水是一个主要的环境问题，当前的修复方法不是最佳方法，因为它们不环保且效率低下。作为这种植物修复，绿色修复技术被认为是一种更好的方法。在这项研究中，傅立叶变换红外（FTIR）光谱和电感耦合等离子体发射光谱（ICP-OES）均用于研究水生植物风信子（Eichhornia crassipes）的能力。）从浓度为2 mg / L和8 mg / L的水溶液中去除铅，铜，镉和砷的重金属。总体而言，结果表明，在两种浓度下，植物都能迅速地吸收> 80％的所有重金属。通过检测植物组织中的金属积累证明了这种摄取。事实证明，根比叶更好地积累。最大生物浓缩系数值表明该工厂是铅的超富集剂，而其他重金属是中等富集剂。发现诸如O–H，C–O，CC–C和C–H的配体有助于植物在其组织中积累重金属。这项研究得出的结论是，风信子可以用作植物修复剂来清除重金属污染的水。