Phytoremediation of contaminated soils and groundwater: lessons from the field
The use of plants and associated microorganisms to remove, contain, inactivate, or degrade harmful environmental contaminants (generally termed phytoremediation) and to revitalize contaminated sites is gaining more and more attention. In this review, prerequisites for a successful remediation will be discussed. The performance of phytoremediation as an environmental remediation technology indeed depends on several factors including the extent of soil contamination, the availability and accessibility of contaminants for rhizosphere microorganisms and uptake into roots (bioavailability), and the ability of the plant and its associated microorganisms to intercept, absorb, accumulate, and/or degrade the contaminants. The main aim is to provide an overview of existing field experience in Europe concerning the use of plants and their associated microorganisms whether or not combined with amendments for the revitalization or remediation of contaminated soils and undeep groundwater. Contaminations with trace elements (except radionuclides) and organics will be considered. Because remediation with transgenic organisms is largely untested in the field, this topic is not covered in this review. Brief attention will be paid to the economical aspects, use, and processing of the biomass. It is clear that in spite of a growing public and commercial interest and the success of several pilot studies and field scale applications more fundamental research still is needed to better exploit the metabolic diversity of the plants themselves, but also to better understand the complex interactions between contaminants, soil, plant roots, and microorganisms (bacteria and mycorrhiza) in the rhizosphere. Further, more data are still needed to quantify the underlying economics, as a support for public acceptance and last but not least to convince policy makers and stakeholders (who are not very familiar with such techniques).
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- LABORATORY-DIRECTED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-98CH10886
- OSTI ID:
- 1040341
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-90603-2010-JA; ESPLEC; R&D Project: 08-079; YN0100000; TRN: US201210%%518
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, Vol. 16, Issue 7; ISSN 0944-1344
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Community structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with Robinia pseudoacacia in uncontaminated and heavy metal contaminated soils
Using Phytoremediation to Clean Up Contamination at Military Installations
Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AVAILABILITY
BACTERIA
BIOMASS
CONTAMINATION
ECONOMICS
ELEMENTS
MICROORGANISMS
PERFORMANCE
PROCESSING
RADIOISOTOPES
SOILS
TRACE AMOUNTS
field experiments
metals
organic contaminants
phytodegradation
phytoextraction
phytoremediation
phytostabilization
rhizodegradation
trace elements