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Phytoremediation of heavy
metals: Recent techniques
Chhotu D. Jadia and M. H.
Fulekar*
Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Life
Sciences, University of Mumbai, Santacruz (E), Mumbai -400
098, India.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
mhfulekar@yahoo.com.
Tel: +91-22 26528847, Fax: +91-22 26526053.
Accepted
19 December, 2008 |
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The current remediation technique of heavy metal from
contaminated soil-water are expensive, time consuming and
environmentally destructive. Unlike organic compounds,
metals cannot degrade, and therefore effective cleanup
requires their immobilization to reduce or remove toxicity.
In recent years, scientists and engineers have started to
generate cost effective technologies that include use of
microorganisms/biomass or live plants to clean polluted
areas. Phytoremediation is an emerging technology for
cleaning up contaminated sites, which is cost effective, and
has aesthetic advantages and long term applicability. It is
best applied at sites with shallow contamination of organic,
nutrient or metal pollutants that are amenable to one of the
five applications; phytotransformation, rhizosphere
bioremediation, phytostabilization, phytoextraction and
rhizofiltration. The technology involves efficient use of
plants to remove, detoxify or immobilize environmental
contaminants in a growth matrix (soil, water or sediments)
through the natural, biological, chemical or physical
activities or processes of the plants. A brief review on
phytoremediation of heavy metals and its effect on plants
have been compiled to provide a wide applicability of
phytoremediation.
Key
words:
Heavy metals, phytoremediation, uptake, metals toxicity. |
