# New Light on Phtyoremediation: The Use of Luminescent Solar Concentrators
## 3 Results
### First phase: Indoor LSC Panel  
The first phase aimed to evaluate if the red LSC panel could hinder or reduce the biomass production of the selected species. The obtained results for the fresh weight for the aerial part and roots are reported in Figure 6. In the following, B LSC, H LSC, and L LSC indicate the Brassica, sunflower and lupine plants grown under the LSC panel. B, H, and L refer to species grown outside the LSC panel, also indicated with the label CT (control). From data showed, it can be noticed a trend towards a higher production of fresh biomass for the aerial part of the plants grown under the LSC panel. On average, considering the mean values, this increase ranges from around 24% to 31%. In Figure 6, the fresh weight values obtained for the roots have also been reported, even if these data are not particularly significant on a microcosm scale due to the difficulty of their harvesting and the modest production. Additionally, in this case, a general trend towards higher (root) biomass production under the LSC panel can be seen, although the differences between the plants grown outside or below the LSC panel are not very large. To compare the overall biomass production, it is possible to consider the whole set of microcosms and calculate the sum of the biomass produced of the five microcosms of each species. The results are reported in Figure 7. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline
**PAR Attenuation \%** & **UV \%** & **Blue \%** & **Green \%** & **Red \%** & **Far-Red \%** \\
**(400–700 nm)** & **(300–400 nm)** & **(400–510 nm)** & **(510–610 nm)** & **(610–720 nm)** & **(720–800 nm)** \\ \hline \(-\)70.5 & 0.6 & 7.8 & 1.8 & 55.0 & 34.7 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) attenuation and distribution (%) of transmitted radiation at different wavelengths through PolyMethylMethylAcrylate (PMMA) ShieldUp® doped with 160 ppm of Lumogen F305 luminescent dye. These results from fresh weights are also confirmed by the trend of the dry weight of the biomass, as shown in Table 3. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Aerial Part**} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Roots**} \\ \hline  & **Mean** & **SD** & **Diff. \%** & **Mean** & **SD** & **Diff. \%** \\ \hline B & 608 & 61.7 & — & 96.3 & 63.0 & — \\ B LSC & 761 & 77.3 & +25.12 & 100 & 59.7 & +4.34 \\ H & 399 & 47.1 & — & 81.8 & 31.6 & — \\ H LSC & 506 & 66.0 & +27.05 & 104 & 26.5 & +26.7 \\ L & 750 & 54.2 & — & 158 & 25.1 & — \\ L LSC & 961 & 96.5 & +28.17 & 166 & 31.9 & +5.61 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Note: Diff\(\%\) is the increased percentage of the mean values of biomass grown under the LSC panel compared to the plants grown outside the panel.  
\end{table} 
Table 3: Dry weight (mg) of the biomass of the aerial part and of the roots of plants. Values are reported as mean \(\pm\) standard deviation (SD). Figure 6: Fresh biomass yield (g) for aerial part and roots. Values are reported as mean \(\pm\) standard deviation. Figure 7: The yield of the biomass (g) of the five microcosms for each species. Data refer to the fresh weight of shoots and roots. Values are reported as mean \(\pm\) standard deviation. In this case, there are significant differences between the aerial parts of plants grown under the red panel and those grown outside the panel, with an increase of about 25%, 27%, and 28% of the mean values for _B. [PERSON]_, _H. [PERSON]_, and _L. [PERSON]_, respectively. Considering that energy saving is one of the strengths of \"green remediation\", the usefulness of LSC panels can be demonstrated if the plants cultivated grow and develop like those grown in traditional greenhouses. The results obtained seem to support this thesis. By absorbing mainly green light, red LSC panels maintain the blue spectral range necessary to activate photosynthesis.