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Volume 7, Issue 5 (Suppl) J Environ Anal Toxicol, an open access journal
ISSN: 2161-0525 Environmental Toxicology 2017
October 19-20, 2017
October 19-20, 2017 | Atlanta, USA
12th International Conference on
Environmental Toxicology and Ecological Risk Assessment
Phytofiltration: Investigations of passive heavy metal binding to plant-derived materials
The ability of non-viable biologically generated materials to remove heavy metal ions from contaminated water has been
recognized for several years. Such biogenic materials are not, however, widely used as substrates for the separation or
preconcentration of metal ions. Much of the reluctance to use these potentially inexpensive materials stems from a lack of
an acceptable level of predictability regarding their behavior in real world systems. This is primarily a result of an incomplete
understanding of the fundamental chemical interactions governing the binding of metal ions to plant-based biomaterials.
We have selected for these studies a materials derived from the plant Datura innoxia. Because of the chemical complexity of
this material, multiple orthogonal probes have been applied to the study of these materials. These probes have included both
spectroscopic techniques and derivation of thermodynamic parameters. Chemical functionalities containing carboxylates
have been identified as responsible for sorption of heavy metal ions. These involve both the formation of surface complexes
and electrostatic attraction to the negatively charge material. Studies of heavy metal ion sorption to root and stem tissues will
be described. The impact of these findings on assessment of biosorbent for contaminated water remediation will be discussed.
Biography
Gary D Rayson has received his Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in 1979 from Baker University (Kansas) in Chemistry and Mathematics and his Doctorate (PhD)
in Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin in 1983. Following a Postdoctoral position at Indiana University, he joined the Faculty in the Chemistry and
Biochemistry Department at NMSU in 1986, where he currently holds the rank of Professor. His field of study is the development and application of optical spectro-
chemical methods of analysis to the investigation of chemically complex systems (e.g., high temperature, environmental or biological).
Gary D Rayson
New Mexico State University, USA
Gary D Rayson, J Environ Anal Toxicol 2017, 7:5 (Suppl)
DOI: 10.4172/2161-0525-C1-007