2. Phytoremediation-The process of removing
contamination from soil or water using plants.
phyto=plant
remedium= restoring balance
Phytoremediation consists of mitigating pollutant
concentrations in contaminated soils, water, or air with
plants able to contain ,degrate,or eliminate
metals,pesticides,solvents and its derivatives from the
media that contain them.
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3. Plant roots take contaminants from the ground into
the body of the plant. The plant root zone is referred
to as the rhizosphere ,this is where the action occurs.
This soil supports large populations of diverse
microorganisms.
This is due to chemicals exuded by plant roots which
provide carbon and energy for microbial growth.
This combination of plants and microorganisms
appears to increase the biodegradation of
compounds.
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5. Plants can be used to extract,detoxify,and toxic
pollutants from soil,water,and air ,in a process called
phytoremediation.
Phytoremediation need to distinguish between ,
1) The remediation of elemental pollutants
2) The remediation of organic pollutants
Elemental pollutants are heavy metals and
metalloids.
e.g-Hg,pb,cd,As
Organic pollutants are toxic chemicals such as,
e.g-formaldehyde,benzene
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6. Phytoremediation is a cleanup technology for metal
contaminated soil, specifically pb.
This type of remediation strategy to be successful ,it
necessary to utilize metal accumulating plants to
extract environmentally toxic metals from the soil,
such as pb,Ni,Cr,Cd and Zn.
Plants have been identified not only to accumulate
metals in the plant roots, but also to translocate the
metals in the plant roots to the leaf and to the shoot.
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7. Cadmium phytoremediation
The main anthropogenic pathway through which Cd
enters the water bodies is via wastes and waste
water from industrial processes such as
electroplating.
Plastic manufacturing , industrial pigments and Cd/Ni
batteries Cd exists in wastewater in many forms
including
soluble,insoluble,inorganic,oxidized,participated
absorbed and complex forms.
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8. Arsenic phytoremediation
In many parts of Asia, arsenical products have been
widely used in agriculture and industrial practises
pesticides, fertilizers ,wood preservations ,smelter
wastes.
The plant root associated VAM fungi in ferns help in
hyper accumulation of arsenic.
Mercury phytoremediation
The mercury contamination in environment is
specially anthropogenic ,industrial sources.
Coal thermal plant, iron and steel industry ,battery
industry are the major sources.
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9. SO2
Nearly 70% SO2 in the atmosphere originates from
fossil fuel combustion .
SO2 enters into plants mainly through stoma, and
can be utilized in a reductive sulphur cycle in plants.
NOx
NOx are air pollutants ,they are one of precursors of
photochemical reaction.
10. Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde a air pollutant is so harmful.
Low level of formaldehyde in air could be removed
by plant leaves alone, while higher concentrations of
the toxic chemical can be filtered by activated carbon
firstly and plant root.
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11. • Phytoremediation is one of the method which
can be used to remedy soil problems in order
to achieve sustaiable soil.
• Phytoremediation has many different forms
which will suit different kind of soil problems.
• Sustainable soil is very important for the
continuum of living organisms.
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