Assessment of the Possibility of using Sosnowsky's Hogweed for

Wastewater Treatment in the Arctic

Maria Yurievna Menshakova

, Anastasia Verigina

and Aiset Shaamanovna Abdulkhazhieva

Murmansk Arctic State University, Murmansk, Russia

Kadyrov Chechen State University, Grozny, Russia

Keywords: Bioplateau, wastewater treatment, invasive species, biogenic elements.

Abstract: The study is devoted to the problem of identifying the most effective plant species for biological wastewater

treatment at high latitudes. For the experiment, Sosnowsky's hogweed was selected, characterized by a high

growth rate and resistance to low temperatures. The ability of Sosnowsky's hogweed to absorb ammonium

ions, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and chloride ions has been studied. The assessment was carried out in

vegetation vessels with a volume of 5 and 10 liters with sand, filled with sewage water. Wastewater from the

airport in the village of Murmashi was used for the study. It is shown that this species absorbs biogenic

elements from water quite intensively. Nitrogen compounds are most intensively absorbed. It was also found

that the most effective extraction of toxic ions occurs in vessels with a volume of 5 liters, which suggests that

planting plants of this species on a bioplateau can be carried out quite densely.

1 INTRODUCTION

Physical (mechanical), chemical and biological

methods of purification and their combinations are

widely used for wastewater treatment. The choice of

a particular method is due to a number of factors: the

volume of discharge, the composition of pollutants

and the toxicity of waters, the features of the

landscape, the proximity of the water intake.

Economic aspects are also of great importance,

namely, the cost of treatment (Borisova, 2011).

In the process of physical treatment, it is possible

to separate coarse particles, sand, fats and petroleum

products. Chemical purification involves

neutralization (using lime, ammonia or mineral

acids), oxidation (for effluents containing highly

toxic organic compounds) and precipitation (with the

formation of insoluble hydroxides) (Voronov, 2007).

Chemical cleaning often leads to secondary

contamination of the treated waters. Physical and

chemical methods include flotation (passing air

through wastewater separating fine particles),

coagulation (converting dissolved particles into

insoluble form in the form of large flakes separated

by physical methods) and adsorption (binding of

polluting particles to the surface of sorbents)

(Borisova, 2011).

Removal of compounds of biogenic elements

(nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur) is most advisable to be

carried out by biological methods, since this approach

does not cause secondary contamination with

reagents. Among biological methods, there are

artificial (feasible in special structures – aerotanks

and methane tanks) and natural (carried out in natural

depressions of the landscape) – lagoons, bioplateaus,

irrigation fields. Artificial methods are widely used,

and the resulting solid residue has previously been

used as fertilizers. Currently, the possibilities of using

this type of waste are sharply limited, since many

highly toxic substances are found in its composition,

such as pesticides, heavy metals, dioxins (Voronov,

2007).

One of the promising natural methods is

bioplateau, where purification is carried out with the

use of higher aquatic vegetation. For a number of

species, high efficiency in the purification of both

sanitary and industrial waters is shown. The most

promising in this regard are such species as the water

hyacinth (Eichcornia crassipes) (Chen 1992; Chen,

1992a; Fox, 2008), Lemna minor, Pistia floating

(Borzenkov, 2010), Elodea canadensis (Bondareva,

2008; Dunbabin,1992; Ding Yanhua, 1992).

For many sparsely populated territories (workers'

settlements, military units, agricultural enterprises),

the use of traditional types of wastewater treatment is

338

Menshakova, M., Verigina, A. and Abdulkhazhieva, A.

Assessment of the Possibility of using Sosnowsky’s Hogweed for Wastewater Treatment in the Arctic.

DOI: 10.5220/0011571500003524

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Methods, Models, Technologies for Sustainable Development (MMTGE 2022) - Agroclimatic Projects and Carbon Neutrality, pages

338-341

ISBN: 978-989-758-608-8

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

extremely expensive, since the construction of

sewage treatment plants, even for small volumes of

discharge, is estimated at tens of millions of rubles,

and the construction of bioplateaus and lagoons does

not require large expenditures (Direnko, 2006).

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

The studies were carried out on the wastewater of the

Murmashi airport, located in the Murmansk region.

The airport is located at a considerable distance from

the village of Murmashi and cannot be connected to a

centralized wastewater disposal and wastewater

treatment system. The effluents are dominated by

ions of biogenic elements.

Young balsam plants having 1 pair of true leaves

were planted in washed coarse sand in vegetative

vessels with a volume of 2, 5 and 10 liters and filled

with sewage water to the mark. The plants were

vegetated for a week under a canopy made of

polyethylene film to prevent dilution of water in the

vessels with rainwater. To account for the

evaporation of water by leaves after exposure, the

water in the vessel was topped up to the mark with

distilled water, after which water was used in the

vessel for analysis.

The ion content was determined

spectrophotometrically:

The content of ammonium ions was determined

using a Nessler reagent, the selective absorption of

infrared radiation of the solution was measured at a

wavelength equal to 425 nm in cuvettes, the

absorption wavelength of the layer of which is 1 or 5

cm.

The phosphorus content was determined using

ammonium molybdate at a wavelength of 690 nm

The content of nitrate ions was determined using

salicylic acid at a wavelength of 690 nm in cuvettes

with a thickness of 20mm, and nitrite ions using

sulfanylic acid at a wavelength of 520 nm.

The content of chloride ions was determined

titrimetrically using a silver nitrate solution

Sosnowsky's hogweed (Heracleum sosnowsky) is

a representative of the genus Hogweed – Heracleum

of the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) family –a south-

temperate Caucasian species adventitious for the

north, which escaped from cultivation and is now

found in a wide variety of plant communities,

currently not only Sosnowsky's hogweed lives in the

Murmansk region, but also various interspecific

hybrids (Menshakova, 2011), showing weak

phytotoxicity and allelopathic activity (Menshakova,

2013).

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results of the experiment on the efficiency of

absorption of anions from wastewater by

Sosnowsky's hogweed are presented in Tables 1 and

2. Just as in the experiment with Impatiens roylei in

all variants of the experiment, in vegetative vessels of

various volumes, a decrease in the concentration of

chlorides, phosphates, ammonium nitrogen, nitrates

and nitrites is observed in an aqueous solution. The

greatest absorption by the roots of the plant occurred

in vessels with the smallest volume (except

ammonium). The concentration of chloride anions in

vessels with a volume of 10 liters decreased by 2

times, while in vessels with a volume of 5 liters by

almost 9 times. The content of phosphates in water in

the variant of the experiment with vegetative vessels

with a volume of 10 liters decreased slightly,

interestingly, the concentration in vessels with a

volume of 5 liters increased slightly. Also of

particular interest are the concentrations of nitrates in

vessels of 10 liters and 5 liters, which decreased by 3

times.

Nitrite anions were most actively absorbed.

Table 1: Concentration of anions in an aqueous solution in the experiment with Sosnowsky's hogweed before and after the

experiment (first sampling).

Volume

vessel, l

Average chloride

concentration,

mg/l

Average

phosphate

concentration,

mg/l

Average

ammonium

nitrogen

concentration,

mg/l

Average nitrate

concentration,

mg/l

Average nitrite

concentration,

mg/l

10 47.96 0.172 1.06 5.2866 0.036

5 8.19 0.195 0.67 5.785 0.0112

Concentration of

anions before the

experiment

73.40 0.186 14.86 16.155 0.458

Assessment of the Possibility of using Sosnowsky’s Hogweed for Wastewater Treatment in the Arctic

339

Table 2: Concentration of anions in an aqueous solution in the experiment with Sosnowsky's hogweed before and after the

experiment (second sampling).

Volume

vessel, l

Average chloride

concentration,

mg/l

Average

phosphate

concentration,

mg/l

Average

ammonium

nitrogen

concentration,

mg/l

Average nitrate

concentration,

mg/l

Average nitrite

concentration,

mg/l

10 16.37 0.154 0.284 5.083 0.0147

5 11.73 0.082 0.147 1.136 0.004

Concentration of

anions before the

experiment

75.15 0.088 10.25 25.98 0.687

Concentrations in vessels with a volume of 5 liters

decreased by 41 times, while in vessels with a volume

of 10 liters by 11 times.

Analyzing the data, it can be concluded that

Sosnowsky's hogweed in the vegetative period most

actively absorbs nitrate and ammonium ions.

Interestingly, the concentration of phosphate ions in

vessels with a volume of 5 liters increased, while

vessels with a volume of 10 liters decreased

During repeated sampling, the content of chloride

anions, ammonium ions, nitrates and nitrite ions in

the aqueous solution turned out to be less than during

the primary sampling, in all variants of the

experiment. The content of chloride anions turned out

to be lower in the secondary sampling from vessels

with a volume of 5 liters. The concentrations of

phosphate anions in vessels with a volume of 10 liters

were lower in the first experiment, but the

concentration in a vessel with a volume of 5 liters

became lower in the secondary sampling (Table 2).

From the data in Tables 1 and 2, it can be seen that

the roots of the plant absorbed anions, and it can also

be concluded that during the growing season,

Sosnowsky's hogweed most actively absorbs

ammonium and nitrate ions. Interestingly, in a vessel

with a volume of 10 liters, the hogweed began to give

off phosphate ions, which caused an increase in the

concentration of these ions.

It can be concluded that hogweed exhibits the

ability to absorb most actively in vessels with the

smallest volume.

4 CONCLUSION

1. As a result of the study, it can be concluded that

Sosnowsky's hogweed has a pronounced ability

to absorb toxic anions.

2. The roots of the Sosnowsky's hogweed most

actively absorb during the flowering period:

nitrate-, nitrite-ions and ammonium ions,

chloride ions, except for vessels with a volume

of 10 liters, phosphate ions, except for vessels

with a volume of 5 liters.

3. The root system of the Sosnowsky's hogweed

most actively absorbs toxic ions in vessels with

the smallest volume.

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