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Article | Tropical Aquatic and Soil Pollution | Volume 6 - Issue 1 - 2026 | 40−53 | https://doi.org/10.53623/tasp.v6i1.1067
© 2026 by the author(s), and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License

Phytoremediation of Coal Mine Acid Drainage Using the Invasive Weed Cyperus rotundus and Typha angustifolia: Optimizing Biomass Density in a Substrate-Free Batch System

Author(s): Rinda Rahmadhani , Muhammad Mahfuzh Huda , Rabiatul Adawiyah , Jevon Ona Ivena
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Department of Environmental Engineering Universitas Muhammadiyah Berau, Tanjung Redeb, Indonesia

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Tropical Aquatic and Soil Pollution

Volume 6 - Issue 1 - 2026

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Acid mine drainage (AMD) presents a persistent environmental challenge, particularly in tropical mining regions. This study evaluated the phytoremediation potential of the zero-cost invasive weed Cyperus rotundus against the established hyperaccumulator Typha angustifolia in a substrate-free batch system. Utilizing extreme raw AMD (pH 2.69; Fe 6.40 ppm; TDS 1,390 ppm), the experiment encompassed a baseline comparison (9 clumps), density optimization (6–15 clumps), and a synergistic mixed-culture evaluation over 15 days. Baseline results indicated that T. angustifolia intrinsically outperformed C. rotundus in iron (Fe) removal (89.10% vs. 82.22%) by day 10. However, optimizing C. rotundus to a 15-clump saturation threshold successfully overcame this deficit, achieving 91.20% Fe attenuation (0.56 ppm). Crucially, extended hydraulic retention (15 days) in high-density configurations induced a severe secondary pollution event, catastrophically increasing Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) to 2,300 ppm because of biomass carrying capacity limits and necrosis. The mixed-culture configuration exhibited the highest overall efficacy, maximizing Fe removal (92.63%), buffering pH to 3.27, and moderating late-stage TDS spikes. The findings demonstrated that while C. rotundus was a highly viable bioremediator, engineering designs needed to cap biomass at the saturation threshold and strictly enforce a 6- to 10-day retention window to prevent secondary decay pollution.

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SUBMITTED: 22 February 2026
ACCEPTED: 26 May 2026
PUBLISHED: 31 May 2026
SUBMITTED to ACCEPTED: 94 days
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53623/tasp.v6i1.1067

Cite this article
Rahmadhani, R. ., Huda, M. M., Adawiyah, R., & Ivena, J. O. (2026). Phytoremediation of Coal Mine Acid Drainage Using the Invasive Weed Cyperus rotundus and Typha angustifolia: Optimizing Biomass Density in a Substrate-Free Batch System. Tropical Aquatic and Soil Pollution, 6(1), 40−53. https://doi.org/10.53623/tasp.v6i1.1067
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