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University of Salahaddin
College of Education
Environmental science department
Phytoremediation
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Halala Rahman Qadir
M.Sc. Plant physiology

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What is Phytoremediation?
• Phytoremediation : The process of
removing contamination from soil or
water using plants.
• phyto = plant
• remedium = restoring balance.
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Phytoremediation
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Phytoremediation consists of mitigating
pollutant concentrations in
contaminated soils, water, or air, with plants
able to contain, degrade, or
eliminate metals, pesticides, solvents,explosives,
crude oil and its derivatives, and various other
contaminants from the media that contain
them.

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Advantages of plants:
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Phytoremediation is cost effectiveIt is suited to
remediation of large areas of soil.
It is environmentally friendly.
Phytoremediation sites are more aesthetically
pleasing
Phytoremediation sites are low maintenance.
It involves no noisy and expensive equipment

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Disadvantages
Phytoremediation is limited to sites with lower contaminant
concentrations.
Toremediation is restricted to sites with contamination as deep
as the roots of the plants being used.
Not as effective for sites with high contaminant concentrations
Phytoremediation is slower than conventional methods
It does not work through the winter (Seasonally effective)
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.
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Phytoremediation
The most important single act of
phytoremediation?
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6 CO2 + 6 H2O C6H12O6 + 6 O2

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How Does Phytoremediation Work?
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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This graphic shows a typical process diagram of phytoremediation.

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Heavy metals
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Arsenic
Cadmium
Lead
Aluminum
Beryllium
Copper
Iron
Mercury
Nickel
These persist in soils and are toxic to animals even in
small quantities

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Various phytoremdiation processes
1. Phytoextraction or phytoconcentration, where
the contaminant is concentrated in the roots,stem and foliage
of the plant,
2. Phytodegradation, where plant enzymes help catalyze
breakdown of the contaminantmolecule,
3. Rhizosphere biodegradation, where plant roots
release nutrients to microorganisms which are active in
biodegradation of the contaminant molecule,
4. Volatilization, where transpiration of organics, selenium and
mercury run through leaves of the plant,
5. Stabilization, where the plant converts the contaminant into a
form which is not bioavailable, or the plant prevents the
spreading of a contaminant plume.

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phytoremdiation
Plants used to decontaminate soils must do one
or more of the following:
• Take up contaminants from soil particles and/or
soil liquid into their roots,
• Bind the contaminant into their root tissue,
physically and/or chemically,
• Transport the contaminant from their roots into
growing shoots,
• Prevent or inhibit the contaminant from leaching
out of the soil.
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Types of Vegetation Used
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Some of the plants used in phytoremediation are:
•Alfalfa
•Hybrid Poplar Trees
•Blue-green Algae
•Arrowroot
•Sudan Grass
•Rye Grass
•Duck Weed
•Bermuda Grass
•Alpine Bluegrass
•Yellow or White Water Lillies

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