Phytoremediation of metals
Abstract
Introduction: For phytoextraction to be a viable alternative to existing soil remediation strategies it will require the existence of high biomass, rapidly growing metal-accumulating plants. It is also of critical importance that the concentration of metal in the harvestable plant tissue be higher than in the soil. This will ensure that the volume of contaminated plant material generated by the phytoextraction processes is less than the original volume of the contaminated soil. Unfortunately, plants do not exist at present which have these desirable characteristics. To generate this type of plant requires detailed information on the rate-limiting steps in the phytoextraction process.
Keywords
Phytoextraction, Biotechnology, rhizofiltration, metals
Date of this Version
2008
Comments
Biotechnology: Environmental Processes II, Volume 11b, Second Edition, Second Edition