aquatic-pollution
Aquatic pollution refers to the contamination of water bodies—including rivers, lakes, and groundwater—by sewage, industrial waste, agricultural runoff, and urban stormwater. For plant science, understanding aquatic pollution is critical because aquatic and riparian plants are both sensitive indicators of water quality and active participants in phytoremediation, the process by which plants absorb and neutralize contaminants. Research in this area helps scientists develop plant-based strategies to restore degraded aquatic ecosystems and protect the health of vegetation that depends on clean water sources.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-05-04
Researchers used cold plasma technology to break down two common textile dyes—Crystal Violet and Reactive Black 5—that persist in waterways and resist natural breakdown. The study tested how water chemistry and dye concentration affect how well the plasma treatment works.
Cold plasma (pin-to-plate dielectric barrier discharge) successfully degraded both Crystal Violet and Reactive Black 5 dyes, which are notoriously resistant to biodegradation.
Increasing salt concentration from 0 to 25 mg/L in the water matrix measurably influenced degradation efficiency, highlighting that real-world water chemistry must be accounted for in treatment design.
Both dye classes—triphenylmethane (Crystal Violet) and azo (Reactive Black 5)—represent major categories of aquatic pollutants from the textile industry, so findings apply broadly across industrial wastewater types.