BIOACCUMULATION OF RHENIUM IN GREEN PLANTS. NEW POSSIBILITY FOR ITS RECOVERY

1st International Scientific Conference - SGEM2001, www.sgem.org, SGEM2001 Conference Proceedings/ ISBN: 954-918181-2, June 3-9, 2001, 411- 420pp

ABSTRACT

It is known that rhenium is easily accumulated in green leaves and plants, its amount in
them exceeding many times its occurrence in the earth’s crust (7x10-8%). We have established
that rhenium is accumulated in the chlorophyll, preferably as Mg(ReO4)2. Laboratory
experiments with green geranium (Pelargonium) planted in soil spiked with rhenium (1 mg Re
per g of soil) reveal that in the first 7 days after the soil is spiked rhenium content in the leaves is
20 mg g-1 and after 21 days it is increased to 100 mg g-1. Leaves of acacia, birch, poplar, etc.,
collected in the vicinity of ore processing works have been analyzed for Re content. The results
show increased Re content in the analyzed samples (up to 3600 times) as compared to its natural
spread. Rhenium content in leaves of oak, birch and poplar collected in unpolluted areas appear
to be also slightly increased (5-50 times) as compared to its content in the earth’s crust. The
results obtained should be advantageous in development of technological scheme for rhenium
recovery from soil and waters in the vicinity of ore dressing works using suitable green plants.