Phytoremediation is a technology that uses green

plants to remediate various media (soil, water or

sediment) that are contaminated with different
types of contaminants (organic and inorganic) and
interact with microorganisms (ITRC, 2001; Ghosh
and Singh, 2005; Cho-Ruk et al., 2006; Sao et al.,
2007)

Phytoremediation is a cost effective,

environmentally friendly, engineering economical,
safe and is suitable for use in developing
countries (Yang et al., 2012; Ghosh and Singh,
2005; Lasat, 2002).
 Phytoremediation is an effective approach
and is categorized as a green technology.
Phytoremediation can be conducted using
ex situ or in situ methods.
- Plants in conjunction with bacteria and fungi
in the rhizosphere
transform, transport or store harmful

chemicals.
- Plants attributes make them good candidates
root system surface area to absorb substances and
efficient mechanisms to accumulate water, nutrients
and minerals.
selectively take up ions

developed diversity and adaptivity to tolerate high

levels of metals and other pollutants.
 Plants use CO2 to harvest light energy, convert it into
chemical energy, and produce carbon biomass through
the processes of photosynthesis in the leaves and
cellular respiration.
Plants also take up liquid water and dissolved
inorganic nutrients through the root system, transport
them throughout the plant in the xylem, and transpire
the water through the leaves as vapor.
While CO2 and water vapor are being exchanged,
oxygen is also being released to the environment.
Likewise, photosynthetic chemicals (photosynthates or
phytochemicals) are transported throughout the plant
in the phloem, even into the root to be exuded into the
surrounding soil.
The upward transport in the xylem and downward
transport in the phloem, collectively termed
translocation, depend on the continuous water
column that exists throughout the plant.
 Types of contaminant
Contaminated media
Weather
Types of plant
(Pilon-Smith 2005)
 Phytostabilization
Mobility and migration of contaminants are reduced through
sorption onto or into the root of plant
Rhizodegradation
Breakdown of contaminants through activity of the rhizosphere
Plants promote microbial activity that breaks down contaminants
Phytoextraction or phytoaccumulation
Plants used to accumulate contaminants in the roots and
aboveground biomass
Can be a relatively low cost option for a large area
Results in biomass that must be properly disposed of or reused
Phytotransformation or phytodegradation
Uptake of contaminants and transformation to more stable, less
toxic, or less mobile forms
Plants metabolize contaminants
Phytovolatilization
o Uptake and transpiration
Rhizofiltration

o Use the extensive root system of plants as a filter

Three mechanisms of phytosequestration that reduce the
mobility of the contaminant and prevent migration to
soil, water, and air are as follows:
Phytochemical complexation in the root zone:
Phytochemicals can be exuded into the rhizosphere,
leading to the precipitation or immobilization of target
contaminants in the root zone. This mechanism of
phytosequestration may reduce the fraction of the
contaminant that is bioavailable.
Transport protein inhibition on the root membrane:
Transport proteins associated with the exterior root
membrane can irreversibly bind and stabilize
contaminants on the root surfaces, preventing
contaminants from entering the plant.
 Vacuolar storage in the root cells:
Transport proteins are also present that
facilitate transfer of contaminants between
cells. However, plant cells contain a
compartment (the vacuole) that acts, in part,
as a storage and waste receptacle for the plant.
Contaminants can be sequestered into the
vacuoles of root cells, preventing further
translocation to the xylem.
 Rhizodegradation, sometimes called
phytostimulation, rhizosphere biodegradation,
or plant assisted bioremediation/degradation,
is the enhanced breakdown of a contaminant
by increasing the bioactivity using the plant
rhizosphere environment to stimulate the
microbial populations.
 Phytoextraction refers to the ability of plants
to take up contaminants into the roots and
translocate them to the aboveground shoots
or leaves.
For contaminants to be extracted by plants,
the constituent must be dissolved in the soil
water and come into contact with the plant
roots through the transpiration stream.
 Plants called hyperaccumulators uptake
unusually large amounts of metals in
comparison to other plants and the ambient
metal concentration.
For a plant to be classified as a
hyperaccumulator, it must be able to
accumulate at least 1,000 mg/kg (dry weight)
of a specific metal or metalloid.
Hyperaccumulators of Ni

Family species location Max. Conc

(mg/kg)
Asteraceae
Berkheya coddii South Africa 11,600
Pentacalia (10 species) Cuba 16,600
Brassicaceae
Bornmuellera (6 taxa) Greece 17,600
Peltaria emarginata Greece 34,400
Streptanthus polygaloides USA(CA) 14,800
Rubiaceae
Psychotria costivenia Cuba 38,530
P. vanhermanii Cuba 35,720
Hyperaccumulators of Zn, Cd and Pb
Family species location Max. Conc (mg/kg)
Zn Cd Pb
Brassicaceae
Thlaspi
caerulescens W&Centr Europe 43,710 2,130 2,740

Caryophyllaceae
Minuartia verna Yugoslavia; UK 11,400 20,000

Dichapetalaceae
Dichapetalum
gelonioides Sumatra; Mindanao;
Sabah 30,000
Hyperaccumulators of Cu and Co
(from Democratic Republic of Congo)

Family species Max. Conc (mg/kg)

Cu Co
Convolvulaceae Ipomoea alpina 12,300

Lamiaceae
Aeollanthus subacaulis var. linearis 13,700 4,300
Haumaniastrum katangense 9,222 2,241
H. robertii 2,070 10,232
Hyperaccumulators of Mn (from New Caledonia)

Family species Max. Conc (mg/kg)

Mn

Celastracear
Maytenus bureaviana 33,750
M. sebertiana 22,500

Proteaceae
Macadamia angustifolia 11,590
M. neurophylla 55,200
Hyperaccumulators of Se (from New Caledonia)

Family species Location Max. Conc (mg/kg)

Asteraceae
Haplopappus
condensata Midwest USA 9,120
Brassicaceae
Stanleya pinnata Midwest USA 1,190
S. bipinnata Midwest USA 2,380
Lecythidaceae
Lecythis ollaria Venezuela
18,200
Leguminosae
Astragalus
bisulcatus Midwest USA 8,840
A. racemosus Midwest USA 14,920
 The contaminant may then be subject to
biological processes occurring within the
plant itself, assuming it is dissolved in the
transpiration stream.
Phytodegradation, also called
phytotransformation, refers to the uptake of
contaminants with the subsequent
breakdown, mineralization, or metabolization
by the plant itself through various internal
enzymatic reactions and metabolic processes.
 Phytovolatilization is the volatilization of
contaminants from the plant either from the
leaf stomata or from plant stems.
 Applicability

A suitable plant for rhizofiltration applications can

remove toxic metals from solution over an extended
period of time with its rapid-growth root system.
Various plant species have been found to
effectively remove toxic metals such as Cu2+, Cd2+,
Cr6+, Ni2+, Pb2+, and Zn2+ from aqueous solutions. Low
level radioactive contaminants also can be removed
from liquid streams.
 Limitations
Rhizofiltration is particularly effective in applications
where low concentrations and large volumes of water
are involved.
Data Requirements
- Depth of contamination,
- Types of heavy metal present,
- Level of contamination must be determined and
monitored.
- Vegetation should be aquatic, emergent, or
submergent plants.
- Hydraulic detention time and sorption by the plant
roots must be considered for a successful design.
The example of an experiment
The plant root immersed in flowing contaminated water until
the root is saturated.
The metal concentrated in the roots was analyzed on a dry
weight .
 Application
- Design of reed bed
- Operational optimization
Field Implementation - Operation (batch,
continuous)
- Kinetics study

Pilot plant reed bed Fundamentals

- Mechanism of
phytormediation
(phytostabilization,
Phytotoxicity study phytoaccumulation,
phytoextraction,
phytodegradation)

Preliminary test - Mechanism of biosorption /

biodegradation
- Plant-microbe interaction
- Kinetics of degradation /
accumulation