Estimating the kinetic parameters of heavy metal uptake by aquatic plants in batch culture

A simple and effective least-squares procedure for the estimation of the kinetic parameters of a heavy metal uptake model by aquatic plants in batch culture experiments was developed, using only the data of the decreasing metal concentration in the substrate. The basic approach was the transformation of the parameter estimation problem to a mathematical model that contains a single decision variable. The resulting model was then solved by an efficient one-dimensional search algorithm, based on the estimation of the maximal concentration of metal in the plant (EP,∞). The model can be adapted for any microcomputer or advanced programmable calculator. The procedure was tested on Fe2+ uptake kinetics in Apium nodiflorum aquatic plant and the estimated parameters were compared with those estimated elsewhere using a continuous culture system.