Phytoremediation of Cadmium‐Contaminated Soil by Two Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) Genotypes

Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) can be used not just for bioethanol production, bur potentially also for soil phytoremediation via removal of heavy metal pollutants. An experiment was carried out to characterize the phytoextraction efficiency of two Jerusalem artichoke genotype (NY2 and NY5) in cadmium (Cd) contaminated soil. After 90 days of growth, NY5 had greater plant biomass and greater Cd accumulation in tissues than NY2. The chlorophyll content and chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters were slightly higher when plants were grown in Cd‐contaminated versus control soil. It implies that this examined NY2 and NY5 can extract more Cd than some hyperaccumulators, indicating that NY2 and NY5 can be applied to clean up Cd‐contaminated soils. Compared with NY2, NY5 had higher phytoextraction potential due to more biomass and higher concentrations of Cd in tissues, and may therefore be the better candidates for phytoremediation in Cd‐contaminated soil.     

Effect of Sample Digestion,Air Filter Contamination,and Post‐adsorption on the Analysis of Trace Elements in Air Particulate Matter

Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma MS are the major analytical tools for trace elements in environmental matrices, however, the underestimate of certain trace elements in analysis of air particulate matter by these two techniques has long been observed. This has been attributed to incomplete sample digestion. Here, we demonstrate that the combined effects of sample digestion, air filter impurities, and post‐adsorption of the analytes contribute to the interference of the analysis. Particular attention should be paid to post‐adsorption of analytes onto air filters after acid digestion.