Introduction:

PHYTOREMEDIATION
Phytoremediation is the technical term used to describe the treatment of environmental problems through the use of plants

Phytoremediation is the name given to a set of technologies that use plants to remediate contaminated sites. Phytoremediation uses living plants for in situ and ex situ remediation of contaminated soil, sludges, sediments and ground water through contaminant removal, degradation or stabilization.

Bioremediation:
Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms, fungi, green plants or their enzymes to return the natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition. In-Situ bioremediation: Soil or ground water is treated in the location where found. This is usually the most cost effective method, but can also be slower and hard to manage. Ex-Situ bioremediation: This type requires the excavation of soil or pumping of ground water before treatment.

Phytoremediation can be used to remediate various contaminants including metals, pesticides, solvents, explosives, petroleum hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and landfill leachates. Phytoremediation has been used for point and nonpoint source hazardous waste.

Risk Reduction:
Phytoremediation is the use of living green plants for in situ risk reduction and/or removal of contaminants from contaminated soil, water, sediments, and air. Specially selected or engineered plants are used in the process. Risk reduction can be through a process of removal, degradation of, or containment of a contaminant or a combination of any of these factors.

Technology that use plants to clean up contaminated sites

Green technology that uses plants systems for remediation and restoration. Encompasses microbial degradation in rhizosphere as well as uptake, accumulation and transformation in the plant.

How does it work?

Plants in conjunction with bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere: transform transport store harmful chemicals Root system increase 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.

Cont
Plants may break down or degrade organic pollutants, or remove and stabilize metal contaminants. This may be done through one of or a combination of the methods. The methods used to phytoremediate metal contaminants are slightly different to those used to remediate sites polluted with organic contaminants.

Metal Phytoextraction

Organic Phytodegradation

Mechanisms:
Phytoremediation uses one basic concept: the plant takes the pollutant through the roots. The pollutant can be stored in the plant (phytoextraction), volatized by the plant (phytovolatization), metabolized by the plant (phytodegradation).

Rhizofiltration

Rhizodegradation

Phytostabilisation

Phytovolatilisation

Types of Phytoremediation:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Phytoremediation of metal contaminated sites:

Phytoextraction (Phytoaccumulation): The process where plant roots uptake metal contaminants from the soil and translocate them to their above soil tissues. This is of particular importance on sites that have been polluted with more than one type of metal contaminant. Hyperaccumulator plant species are used on may sites due to their tolerance of relatively extreme levels of pollution. Once the plants have grown and absorbed the metal pollutants they are harvested and disposed of safely. This process is repeated several times to reduce contamination to acceptable levels. In some cases it is possible to recycle the metals through a process known as phytomining, though this is usually reserved for use with precious metals. Metal compounds that have been successfully phytoextracted include zinc, copper and nickel.

Phytoextraction (Phytoaccumulation) Rhizofiltration Phytostabilisation Phytodegradation (Phytotransformation) Rhizodegradation Phytovolatilization Hydraulic control of Pollutants

Example:
Sunflower and Indian Mustard. Recently researchers at the University of Florida have determined that a species of fern, native to the south east, stores high concentrations of arsenic in its fronds and stems more than 200 times the concentration in the soil.

Phytoextraction

Rhizofiltration
Rhizofiltration is similar in concept to Phytoextraction but is concerned with the remediation of contaminated groundwater rather than the remediation of polluted soils. The contaminants are either adsorbed onto the root surface or are absorbed by the plant roots. Plants used for rhizofiltration are not planted directly in situ but are acclimated to the pollutant first. Plants are hydroponically grown in clean water rather than soil, until a large root system has developed. Once a large root system is in place the water supply is substituted for a polluted water supply to acclimatise the plant. Afer the plants become acclimatised they are planted in the polluted area where the roots uptake the polluted water and the contaminants along with it. Example: pollution to suitable levels as was exemplified in Chernobyl where sunflowers were grown in radioactively contaminated pools.

Rhizofiltration

Phytostabilisation
Phytostabilisation is the use of certain plants to immobilise soil and water contaminants. Contaminant are absorbed and accumulated by roots, adsorbed onto the roots, or precipitated in the rhizosphere. This reduces or even prevents the mobility of the contaminants preventing migration into the groundwater or air, and also reduces the bioavailibility of the contaminant thus preventing spread through the food chain. This technique can also be used to re-establish a plant community on sites that have been denuded due to the high levels of metal contamination. Once a community of tolerant species has been established the potential for wind erosion is reduced and leaching of the soil contaminants is also reduced.

Phytostabilization

Phytoremediation of organic polluted sites

Phytodegradation (Phytotransformation): Phytodegradation is the degradation or breakdown of organic contaminants by internal and external metabolic processes driven by the plant. Ex planta metabolic processes hydrolyse organic compounds into smaller units that can be absorbed by the plant. Some contaminants can be absorbed by the plant and are then broken down by plant enzymes. These smaller pollutant molecules may then be used as metabolites by the plant as it grows, thus becoming incorporated into the plant tissues. Plant enzymes have been identified that breakdown ammunition wastes, chlorinated solvents such as TCE (Trichloroethane), and others which degrade organic herbicides.

Phytodegradation (Phytotransformation)

Rhizodegradation
Rhizodegradation (also called enhanced rhizosphere biodegradation, phytostimulation, and plant assisted bioremediation) is the breakdown of organic contaminants in the soil by soil dwelling microbes which is enhanced by the rhizosphere's presence. Certain soil dwelling microbes digest organic pollutants such as fuels and solvents, producing harmless products. Plant root exudates such as sugars, alcohols, and organic acids act as carbohydrate sources for the soil microflora and enhance microbial growth and activity. Some of these compound may also act as chemotactic signals for certain microbes. The plant roots also loosen the soil and transport water to the rhizosphere thus additionaly enhancing microbial activity.

Rhizodegradation:

Phytovolatilization:
Phytovolatilization is the process where plants uptake contaminants which are water soluble and release them into the atmosphere as they transpire the water. The contaminant may become modified along the way, as the water travels along the plant's vascular system from the roots to the leaves, whereby the contaminants evaporate or volatilize into the air surrounding the plant. There are varying degrees of success with plants as phytovolatilizers with one study showing poplar trees to volatilize up to 90% of the TCE they absorb.

Phytovolatalization:

Hydraulic control of Pollutants:

Hydraulic control is the term given to the use of plants to control the migration of subsurface water through the rapid uptake of large volumes of water by the plants. The plants are effectively acting as natural hydraulic pumps which when a dense root network has been established near the water table can transpire up to 300 gallons of water per day. This fact has been utilised to decrease the migration of contaminants from surface water into the groundwater and drinking water supplies. There are two such uses for plants:

Phytohydraulics:

Riparian corridors:
Riparian corridors and buffer strips are the applications of many aspects of phytoremediation along the banks of a river or the edges of groundwater plumes. Pytodegradation, phytovolatilization, and rhizodegradation are used to control the spread of contaminants and to remediate polluted sites. Riparian strips refer to these uses along the banks of rivers and streams, whereas buffer strips are the use of such applications along the perimeter of landfills.

Vegetative cover:
Vegetative cover is the name given to the use of plants as a cover or cap growing over landfill sites. The standard caps for such sites are usually plastic or clay. Plants used in this manner are not only more aesthetically pleasing they may also help to control erosion, leaching of contaminants, and may also help to degrade the underlying landfill.

Plants and chemicals they can remediate.

Examples:
Application Phytoextraction & Rhizodegradation Phytostabilisation Rhizofiltration Phytoextraction Phytodegradation Riparian corridor, phytodegradation Pollutant Petroleum & Hydrocarbons Heavy Metals Radionuclides Radionuclides Expolsives waste Nitrates Medium Plant's

Plant Arabidopsis Bladder campion Brassica family (Indian Mustard & Broccoli) Buxaceae (boxwood) Mercury Zinc, Copper

Chemicals

Selenium, Sulfur, Lead, Cadmium, Chromium, Nickel, Zinc, Copper, Cesium, Strontium Nickel Cesium, Strontium Nickel Lead, Zinc, Copper Pesticides, Atrazine, Trichloroethylene (TCE), Carbon tetrachloride, Nitrogen compounds, 2,4,6trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5 triazine (RDX) Zinc, Cadmium Cesium, Strontium, Uranium Explosives wastes Explosives wastes TNT, RDX Polychlorinatedphenyls (PCP's), polyaromatichydrocarbons (PAH's)

Soil & Alfalfa, poplar, Groundwater juniper, fescue Soil Hybrid poplar, grasses

Compositae family Euphorbiaceae Tomato plant

Trees in the Populusgenus (Poplar, Cottonwood)

Groundwater Sunflowers
Pennycress

Soil Groundwater

Indian mustard, cabbage Duckweed, parrotfeather

Sunflower genus Lemna (Duckweed) Parrot feather Pondweed, arrowroot, coontail Perennial rye grass

Groundwater Hybrid poplar

Advantages:
Phytoremediation is less expensive than the old "pump and treat" method for the treatment of contaminated water. Phytoremediation is also much less expensive than digging out the contaminated site. Up to 95% of TCE present in water could be removed by simply planting trees and letting them grow. Phytoremediation takes no maintenance once instituted. Since phytoremediation uses plants, it is aesthetically pleasing. After plants are introduced, wildlife is able to flourish at the once uninhabitable site. Solar energy is used to drive the cleansing activity.

Disadvantages:
Phytoremediation is limited to sites with lower contaminant concentrations. Phytoremediation is restricted to sites with contamination as deep as the roots of the plants being used. The food chain could be adversely affected by the degradation of chemicals. The air could be contaminated by the burning of leaves or limbs of plants containing dangerous chemicals.

Risk Assessment:
The use of phytoremediation in the field is subject to many environmental concerns, especially in the light of the recent pulic hysteria about the release of GM crops into the environment. Even if non GM strains of plants are used there are still many concerns: It is unknown what ecological effects hyperaccumulator plants may have if ingested by animals Fallout from senescing tissues in autumn may also re-enter the food chain Do volatilized contaminants remain at 'safe' levels in the atmosphere Exposure of the ecosystem to contaminants is prolonged as phytoremediation is a relatively slow process

Cont
However there are other issues that affect the risk assesment for the use of transgenic organisms as phytoremediators. Not only do such organisms have the same risks as wild type remediators but they also have the same risks as releasing any GM organism into the field have:

The potential genetic pollution of native species Potential for the gene to recombine with other genes possibly leading to the hyperaccumulation of noncontaminant compounds Reporter/marker genes may also escape into the environment The GM plants may revert to a wild type genotype

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