Crops with potential for diclosulam remediation and concomitant bioenergy production

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate crops for their ability to phytoremediate diclosulam residues in the soil and produce lignocellulosic ethanol. Physiological characteristics, biomass production, soil cover rate, fermentable sugar production and lignocellulosic ethanol production potential of the crops were evaluated in soil with diclosulam residues. The experimental design was a randomized block with four replications. The treatments were arranged in a 4 × 2 factorial scheme with the following crops as the first factor: Avena sativa, Canavalia ensiformis, Mucuna aterrima, and Pennisetum glaucum. The second factor was the presence or absence of the herbicide diclosulam in the soil (30 g ha⁻¹). The physiological variables of the plant species were not affected by the presence of diclosulam; the soil cover of P. glaucum was lower in the area with diclosulam, with a value of 26%. The levels of glucose were not affected by the presence of diclosulam in A. sativa, C. ensiformis, and M. aterrima, indicate not change the estimated yield of ethanol for this species. Avena sativa and Pennisetum glaucum have the potential to phytoremediate soils containing diclosulam residues, with concomitant lignocellulosic ethanol production ability.

Novelty statement

Phytoremediation of soils with herbicide residues is a viable tool and has been increasingly widespread throughout the world. The use of plant species capable of making the soil feasible for successive plantings sensitive to previously applied residual herbicides is a way to optimize agricultural production. However, there are few studies in which vegetable biomass used in the phytoremediation process is used. Thus, our study is innovative because it seeks to combine phytoremediation with the production of bioethanol, ensuring even more sustainable agriculture.

Keywords:

• Bioethanol
• herbicide
• phytoremediation

Acknowledgments

To “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)”.