Description:
Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is a wastewater formed through a series of chemical reactions and biological activities during and
after open-pit system coal exploitation. Coal containing sulfide in the presence of oxygen and air is oxidized to form sulfuric
acid, thus having a pH<4. This condition facilitates the solubility of Fe and Mn. As a result, AMDhas a great potential as
environmental polluters. This study aims to determine the efficiency of Fe and Mn removal on AMD and potency of water
hyacint and Chinese water chestnut to accumulate Fe and Mn. The method used is phytoremediation by water
hyacinth/ecenggondok (Eichhornia crassipes) and chinese water chestnut/puruntikus (Eleocharis dulcis) on constructed
wetland system (CW). The treatment was carried out for 25 days with a flow rate of 5 m3/day. Measurements and samplings
are done every 5 days. Measurements of Fe and Mn concentrations using ICP-OES. The results show that the CW is only able
to increase the pH from 3.20 to 5.31. Water hyacinth and chinese water chestnut are able to accumulate Fe and Mn with the
highest Bioconcentration Factor (BCF) for Fe, respectively from 1701.12 and 1010.86 and for Mn, respectively 1.12 and 1.45,
Phytoremediation Index (PRI) or theCW performance efficiency in Fe and Mn removal respectively between (87.11– 95.28) %
and (70.08 – 79.84) %. These results indicate that both plants can be considered to be utilized for long-term AMD processing
in wider CWs.