Phytoremediation: An Environmental Detoxification Technology using Plants

Abstract

Phytoremediation is a green technology that uses plant to remove, detoxify and clean up some selected environmental contaminations inside the soil, waste water, ground water and sludge that are contaminated through human, economic, agricultural and industrial activities. Excessive contaminations of the soil usually pose significant health hazard to human and plants life, hence it is imperative to adequately and carefully remove all these toxic substances from the soil leaving the soil free of contaminations. They are usually less expensive and eco-friendly. These pollutants are usually remediated using five different applications; Phyto-extraction, phyto-stabilization, phyto-filtration (Rhizo-filtration), phyto-volatization, phyto-transformation (Phyto-degradation). Different plants have been identified as phyto-remediators and are capable of bio-accumulating shallow contaminants, toxic metals, organic and nutrients pollutants into their different harvestable body parts; like the leaves, root, shoot and stem thereby stabilizing the soil of variety of pollutions. The plants that are efficient in remediating the soil are also called ‘Hyper-accumulators’ they thrive well in a toxic environment. They concentrate heavy metals like; Pb, Ni, Co, Cd, Co and lots more into their body parts and the plant biomass are carefully disposed and incinerated in an enclosed medium. United States Environmental Protection agency reiterates that phytoremediation is a clean and cheap technology that can be used in remediating our polluted sites.