Reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by Wetland Plants: Potential for In Situ Heavy Metal Detoxification (Critical Review) Really interesting

topic for the whole humanity, well, it is important to all of us to clean up the mess we have caused in all this years of existence, and only a few decades ago it was noticed. This is the summary of the article Reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by Wetland Plants: Potential for In Situ Heavy Metal Detoxification written by C . Mellytle, Farrelw.Lytle,Nancy Yang ,Jin-Hongqian,Drewhansen, Adelzayed, And Normanterry. From University of California, Berkeley, The EXAFS Company and Sandia National Laboratory, who made an excellent work in the investigation of the properties and conditions of wetland plants and its contribution of cleaning the environment. In this article, the central topic is how a wetland plant can reduce the Cr of VI (contaminant of waste water) to III order; lot of water plants can made this process of detoxify water containing heavy metals, which are dangerous for organisms, by using chelating of plants, reduction or oxidation mechanisms. Chromium, although is really useful in the industry, stable, nontoxic, and essential for the nutrition and health of organisms, this may be very dangerous for people, because this might damage the DNA human structure causing mutations. So it is really important to clean up the environment reducing Cr (VI) to Cr(III) in situ, making use of this plants, studies reveal that in the plants are some bacterium (Pseudomonas ambigua) that are the ones that allows and realize the reduction process from toxic Cr(VI) to nontoxic Cr(III). The way to investigate and prove this was taking a daughter replica from wetland plants ( E. crassipes) and exposed to equal nutrients conditions in H2CrO4 solution, this took between 4 hours and 14 days in different experiments during 9 months. Add to this, some antimicrobial agents like rifampicin and amphotericin were used in order to find out any bacteria associated with the Cr (VI) reduction inside the plant. Rimapicin was used because this is greatly efficient detecting this kind of bacteria, in the other hand; amphotericin would reduce interferences caused by must or yeast. Towards indentify the potential place where Cr(VI) is reduced, new experimental plants were taken with the purpose of adding it 100 g/mL with the needed antibiotic, and was exposed to X-ray spectroscopy during 72 hours and collected at intervals of 4, 24, and 72h. At 4h some Cr was found in the plant in some part of some roots, at 24h all roots had Cr in a few parts and this strongly increased at 72h which make known that Cr is quickly reduced. Add to that it is discover that is actually the plant the one that reduce the Cr(VI) to Cr(III) taking into account the microbiological process applied in the nutrient culture solution. This investigation was pertinent and helpful to the environment due to the toxicity of the Chromium, and the impact this can cause to the environment, and human health, so this is causing sickness and deaths because lack of control by government and industries like tanning, which are the most Cr contaminants {1} Subsequently that would be really useful to increase the cleanup of this contaminated water en route for a better place to live, and nowadays people is noticing the importance of take care of the planet. With this alternative, is possible to preserve the drinking water for longer. {1} Ch, Barcelo, J., Gunse, B. El Impacto del cromo en el medio ambiente. 1. Presencia natural y antropognica del Cr en el medio ambiente. Circular Farmacutica 290: 23-38 (1986). Barcelona.

Andrs Melo Gmez Teoras Qumicas III Sandra Sandoval Osorio