Phytoremediation: Right Plants for Right Pollutants

GuangshuZhai

doi:10.4172/2155-6199.1000102e

ISSN: 2155-6199

Journal of Bioremediation & Biodegradation

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Phytoremediation: Right Plants for Right Pollutants

Guangshu Zhai^*
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and IIHR Hydroscience and Engineering,The University of Iowa, IowaCity, IA
Corresponding Author :	Guangshu Zhai Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and IIHR Hydroscience and Engineering,The University of Iowa IowaCity, IA, 52242 Tel: 319-335-5866 E-mail: zhai-guangshu@uiowa.edu
Received August 30, 2011; Accepted August 31, 2011; Published September 02, 2011
Citation: Zhai G (2011) Phytoremediation: Right Plants for Right Pollutants. J Bioremed Biodegrad 2:102e. doi: 10.4172/2155-6199.1000102e
Copyright: © 2011 Zhai G. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Pollutants are not necessarily born as pollutants. On the contrary, they may be resourcesapplied in the wrong places. Incorrect uses, accidental releases and/or technical limits make them harmful to ourenvironment. Following agricultural and industrial development, pollutants have formed a huge stereo-network on earth, existing in the water, soil and air. Many measures were taken successfully to treat the pollution of water or soil, but not so for air pollution. Furthermore, air pollutants can reach even more widespread locations, including the Antarctic and even the stratospheric ozone layer. Is there a way to potentially remove the pollutantsfrom water, soil and air simultaneously? Phytoremediation is a good option.

Using green plants as weapons, phytoremediation is one of most economical and environment-friendly techniques to target the organic and inorganic pollutants in the water, soil and air simultaneously. Actually, whether we realize it or not, with such a huge biomass on the earth, plants have always affected the concentration of pollutants in our environment. But the challenge is to find and use exactly the right plants for specific pollutants. Deep roots, luxuriant leaves, specialsorptive properties and the associated bacteria in root zones allow plants to absorb, take-up, accumulate, metabolize and/or degrade the pollutants from water, soil and air. Of course, the ideal way is for plants to use pollutants and/or their metabolites as nutritional elements during the growth and to completely remove the pollutants physically and chemically from the environment. According to various functions of plants, phytoremediation is divided in the different categories, such as phytoextraction, phytostabilization, phytotransformation, rhizoremediation and phytovolatilization. Many plant species have been successfully applied in the removal organic and inorganic pollutants from water and soil. For example, poplars remove and metabolize polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and trichloroethylene (TCE); Brassica family (Indian Mustard & Broccoli) take-up heavy metals, such as cadmium, chromium, nickel and zinc. However, not all the plants can play such a big role in phytoremediation. First, they should survive and grow fast in the contaminated environment and tolerate the high concentrations of pollutants. Second, at best they should be native plants to the desired site because every plant has its own habitat. Third, they should have highcapacities to remove one or more pollutants. Therefore, it is a tough challenge to find the right plants for each and every pollutant.

Although phytoremediation is a promising technique to remove pollutants, it is still an immature and developing technology to deal with pollution problems. The studies of plant’s species, habitat and transformation rates of various pollutants still have a long way to go. Scientists are the bridgeswho connect suitable plants and troublesome pollutants. There is still a lot not known regarding reaction mechanisms in phytoremediation. To combine the characteristics of many genes, transgenic plants may also provide agood option in the future for phytoremediation. However, it is clear that phytoremediation already plays an important role inremoving pollutants from the environment -- we just need to find the right plant for the right pollutant. Our task as scientists is to make this happen.