MACROPHYTES ALLIED IN ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION: AN EXPLORATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL PROSPECTION OF PATENTS FOR BIOREMEDIATION OF CONTAMINATED WATER José Nattan da Rocha Silva Reis, Ana Beatriz Borges de Sousa, Luiz Felipe Cruz Silva, Michely Correia Diniz

Abstract

Water bodies are direct targets of human actions, which contribute to the degradation of these environments. Based on this, studies describe the importance of aquatic macrophytes in the bioremediation of contaminated waters, explaining the capacity of these organisms to contain pollutants, assist in the cycling of nutrients, remove and degrade xenobiotic compounds, in addition to acting as bioindicators in phytoremediation, being a low-cost sustainable technology. The objective of this work was to collect and analyze patent documents that contemplate technologies based on macrophytes with phytoremediation potential in improving water quality and in the management of aquatic ecosystems. The WIPO, Lens and INPI databases were used, with the terms Macrophyte and Water and Bioremediation. The results indicated a significant number of patents associated with the set of terms, 94 for WIPO, 90 for Lens and 18 in INPI, with emphasis on the distribution by country, with the USA being the leader in this aspect. Finally, it was possible to confirm the continued relevance of the development and use of macrophytes for environmental restoration and the sustainability of water resources, given adequate plant management and control.