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Phytoremediation is the use of a plant's natural ability to contain, degrade, or remove toxic chemicals and
pollutants from soil or water. It can be used to clean up metals, pesticides, solvents, explosives, crude oil, and
contaminants that may leak from landfill sites (called leachates). The term phytoremediation is a combination of
two words ± phyto, which means plant, and remediation, which means to remedy.

Scientists are investigating phytoremediation's potential by using plants such as sunflower, ragweed, cabbage and
geranium, as well as other less known species. The plants are often used in combination with other traditional
technologies for cleaning up contaminated sites because of the phytoremediation's limitations (see below).









 




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? ½nvironmentally friendly, cost-effective, and aesthetically pleasing.

? ëetals absorbed by the plants may be extracted from harvested plant biomass and then recycled.
Phytoremediation can be used to clean up a large variety of contaminants.
? ëay reduce the entry of contaminants into the environment by preventing their leakage into the
groundwater systems.

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? elies on natural cycle of plants and therefore takes time.

? Phytoremediation works best when the contamination is within reach of the plant roots, typically three to
six feet underground for herbaceous plants and 10 to 15 feet for trees.
? Some plants absorb a lot of poisonous metals, making them a potential risk to the food chain if animals
feed upon them.

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There are five basic types of phytoremediation, categorized by the type of material they remediate ± metals or
organic chemicals.

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 -- In this process, the plant absorbs metal contaminants through the roots and moves
them into the upper portions of the plant (stems and the leaves). Hyperaccumulators are often used in
this process for their enhanced capacity to extract contaminants from their surrounding environment. The
plants are then harvested and discarded appropriately. It may also be possible to recover the original
metals from the plants.

? 
 -- This method applies specifically to surface and ground water remediation. In this
process, contaminants are extracted either directly by absorption through the roots, or indirectly through
root adsorption, meaning that contaminants are attracted to and held by the roots. Plants that have been
grown in clean water are transplanted to the contaminated water site. When the roots become saturated
with the contaminants, they are harvested and new ones are planted. The use of constructed wetlands to
treat wastewater and landfill leachate are examples of rhizofiltration.

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 -- Plants are used to contain soil and water contaminants or reduce their mobility
through the surrounding environment. This is accomplished by contaminant absorption or adsorption
through the plant roots, or by decreasing soil erosion and wind-blown dust. For metals, which do not
biodegrade, this is an effective method for preventing their spread to ground or surface water.

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 -- In this process, the plant absorbs and breaks down organic chemicals in
contaminated soil and groundwater through its metabolic processes.

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 -- Plants
stimulate the growth of microorganisms in the area around their roots (called the rhizosphere) through
the release of natural substances. These microorganisms, such as yeast, fungi, and bacteria, degrade
contaminants through their metabolicprocesses.