Bioremediation through

PHYTOREMEDIATION
Paula Denice C. Bagunu CAS-02-601P

What is Bioremediation?
O Bioremediation is the use of

microorganism metabolism to remove pollutants. Technologies can be generally classified as in situ or ex situ. In situ bioremediation involves treating the contaminated material at the site, while ex situ involves the removal of the contaminated material to be treated elsewhere.

Forms of Bioremediation
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Phytoremediation- treatment of environmental problems (bioremediation) through the use of plants that mitigate the environmental problem Bioventing- soil vacuum extraction. It is used for removal of oily phase contaminants above the watertable. Bioleaching- the extraction of specific metals from their ores through the use of living organisms. Land farming- bioremediation treatment process that is performed in the upper soil zone or in biotreatment cells. Contaminated soils, sediments, or sludges are incorporated into the soil surface and periodically turned over (tilled) to aerate the mixture. Bioaugmentation- introduction of a group of natural microbial strains or a genetically engineered variant to treat contaminated soil or water. Rhizofiltration- involves filtering water through a mass of roots to remove toxic substances or excess nutrients. Biostimulation- involves the modification of the environment to stimulate existing bacteria capable of bioremediation. This can be done by addition of various forms of rate limiting nutrients and electron acceptors, such as phosphorus, nitrogen, oxygen, or carbon (e.g. in the form of molasses).

Phytoremediation
: An Environmentally Sound Technology for Pollution Prevention, Control and Remediation

O Around the world, there is an increasing trend in areas

of land, surface waters and groundwater affected by contamination from industrial, military and agricultural activities either due to ignorance, lack of vision, or carelessness. The build-up of toxic pollutants (metals, radionuclides and organic contaminants in soil, surface water and ground water) not only affects natural resources but also causes a major strain on ecosystems. Remediation of contaminated sites using conventional practices, such as pump-and-treat and dig-and-dump techniques, is often expensive, has limited potential, and is usually only applicable to small areas. Additionally, these conventional approaches to remediation often make the soil infertile and unsuitable for agriculture and other uses by destroying the microenvironment. Hence there is the need to develop and apply alternative, environmentally sound technologies (ESTs), taking into account the probable end use of the site once it has been remediated.

Overview
O Phytoremediation is the direct use of living green

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plants for in situ, or in place, removal, degradation, or containment of contaminants in soils, sludges, sediments, surface water and groundwater. Phytoremediation is: A low cost, solar energy driven cleanup technique. Most useful at sites with shallow, low levels of contamination. Useful for treating a wide variety of environmental contaminants. Effective with, or in some cases, in place of mechanical cleanup methods.

What is Phytoremediation?
O Phytoremediation (phyto means plant) is a

generic term for the group of technologies that use plants for remediating soils, sludges, sediments and water contaminated with organic and inorganic contaminants. O Phytoremediation can be defined as the efficient use of plants to remove, detoxify or immobilise environmental contaminants in a growth matrix (soil, water or sediments) through the natural biological, chemical or physical activities and processes of the plants.

O Plants are unique organisms equipped with remarkable

metabolic and absorption capabilities, as well as transport systems that can take up nutrients or contaminants selectively from the growth matrix, soil or water. O Plants have evolved a great diversity of genetic adaptations to handle the accumulated pollutants that occur in the environment. O Phytoremediation can be used to clean up metals, pesticides, solvents, explosives, crude oil, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and landfill leachates. It can also be used for river basin management through the hydraulic control of contaminants. O Phytoremediation has been studied extensively in researchCabbage plantationdemonstrations,abut full-scale and small-scale growing close to zinc applications arein Silesia, Poland. As a result of a smelter currently limited to a small number of projects.smelt activities lead concentration was highlylead to Further research and development will wider acceptance in theuse and then picked up by a increased and soil of phytoremediation.
number of crops in the surrounding areas.(Photo: IETU)

How does Phytoremediation work?

O There are several ways in which plants

are used to clean up, or remediate, contaminated sites. To remove pollutants from soil, sediment and/or water, plants can break down, or degrade, organic pollutants or contain and stabilize metal contaminants by acting as filters or traps.

O The uptake of contaminants in plants occurs

primarily through the root system, in which the principal mechanisms for preventing contaminant toxicity are found. O The root system provides an enormous surface area that absorbs and accumulates the water and nutrients essential for growth, as well as other non-essential contaminants. O Researchers are finding that the use of trees (rather than smaller plants) is effective in treating deeper contamination because tree roots penetrate more deeply into the ground. In addition, deep-lying contaminated ground water can be treated by pumping the water out of the ground and using plants to treat the contamination.

O Plant roots also cause changes at the soil-

root interface as they release inorganic and organic compounds (root exudates) in the rhizosphere. O Root exudates, by themselves can increase (mobilise) or decrease (immobilise) directly or indirectly the availability of the contaminants in the root zone (rhizosphere) of the plant through changes in soil characteristics, release of organic substances, changes in chemical composition, and/or increase in plantassisted microbial activity.

O Phytoremediation is an alternative or

complimentary technology that can be used along with or, in some cases in place of mechanical conventional clean-up technologies that often require high capital inputs and are labour and energy intensive. O Phytoremediation is an in situ remediation technology that utilises the inherent abilities of living plants. It is also an Experimental phytoremediation crops in Canada (Photo: Environment Canada) ecologically friendly, solar-energy driven clean-up technology, based on the concept of using nature to cleanse nature.

Forms of Phytoremediation
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Phytoextraction uptake and concentration of substances from the environment into the plant biomass. Phytostabilization reducing the mobility of substances in the environment, for example, by limiting the leaching of substances from the soil. Phytotransformation chemical modification of environmental substances as a direct result of plant metabolism, often resulting in their inactivation, degradation (phytodegradation), or immobilization (phytostabilization). Phytostimulation enhancement of soil microbial activity for the degradation of contaminants, typically by organisms that associate with roots. This process is also known as rhizosphere degradation. Phytostimulation can also involve aquatic plants supporting active populations of microbial degraders, as in the stimulation of atrazine degradation by hornwort. Phytovolatilization removal of substances from soil or water with release into the air, sometimes as a result of phytotransformation to more volatile and/or less polluting substances. Rhizofiltration filtering water through a mass of roots to remove toxic substances or excess nutrients. The pollutants remain absorbed in or adsorbed to the roots.

Plants used in Bioremediation

O Brassica juncea and Brassica carinata-

two members of the mustard family, for phytoremediation. In laboratory tests with metals loaded onto artificial soil (a mix of sand and vermiculite), these plants appeared to be the best at removing large quantities of chromium, lead, copper, and Brassica nickel. juncea, also known as mustard greens,
Indian mustard, Chinese mustard, and leaf mustard,

O Zea mays - can take up incredibly high

levels of lead. Z. mays, a monocot in the Poaceae or grass family, is the most important cultivated cereal next to wheat and rice, yielding such products as corn meal, corn flour, cornflakes, cooking oil, beer, and animal feed O University researchers from the UK reported in the May 1999 issue of Nature Biotechnology that transgenic tobacco plants can play a role in cleaning up explosives.

O In February 1996, Phytotech, Inc., a Princeton, NJ-

based company, reported that it had developed transgenic strains of sunflowers, Helianthus sp., that could remove as much as 95% of toxic contaminants in as little as 24 hours. O Subsequently, Helianthus was planted on a styrofoam raft at one end of a contaminated pond near Chernobyl, and in twelve days the cesium concentrations within its roots were reportedly 8,000 times that of the water, while the strontium concentrations were 2,000 times that of the water. Helianthus is in the composite, or Asteraceae, family and has edible seeds. It also produces an oil that is used for cooking, in margarine, and as a Helianthus sp. paint additive. H. tuberosus was used by Native Americans as a carbohydrate source for diabetics.

Phytoremediation of Textile Process Effluent by Using Water hyacinth

Figure 2. Water hyacinth plant in 2 liters of a zinc solution. In a present investigation phytoremediation of textile process effluent by using water hyacinth has been carried out in the studying reduction of COD and metals from textile process effluent. It has been observed that there is a reduction of 80% in COD and about 25 to 45% reduction in metals after 18 days period (KIT's College of Engineering Campus)

O In studies where the ability of the water hyacinth to

remove lead, cadmium, and mercury was tested, the plant removed approximately 65 per cent of lead, 50 per cent of cadmium, and 65 per cent of mercury from water polluted with 10 ppm of lead and 1 ppm of mercury and cadmium . One hectare of water hyacinth plants is potentially capable of removing 160 kg of phenol per 72 hectares from water polluted with this chemical . Combinations of microorganisms with water hyacinths must be seriously considered in developing filtration systems for removing toxic trace chemicals, such as heavy metals and carcinogenic materials. (Leonardo Lareo and Ricardo Bressani, Division of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama, Guatemala City, Guatemala.)

Other uses of Water Hyacinths

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The results of several studies show plants such as the water hyacinth use appreciable amounts of the inorganic forms of nitrogen and phosphorus found in domestic sewage. Because inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus are accumulated to a large extent in the roots (roots represent 20 per cent of the wet weight of the plants), this quality signifies a second possible use for the water hyacinth as 'compost', or organic fertilizer. Water hyacinth compost (total plant), however, presents a problem because the fiber is not degraded. Water hyacinth root compost has nevertheless been used with good results as a propagation medium for house plants. Water hyacinths thrive on sewage; they absorb and digest waste water pollutants, converting sewage effluents to relatively clean water. Thus, the plants have exciting promise as a natural water purification system, which can be established at a fraction of the cost of a conventional sewage treatment facility. Water hyacinths are serving that purpose in several locales and a number of other communities are considering adoption of the technique. For maximum effectiveness, Pollution gorged water hyacinths must be harvested at intervals, but this apparent drawback offers potential for additional benefit. Harvested plants can be and are being used as fertilizer. They can also be heat treated to produce consumer energy in the form of methane gas. And if an economical way of drying the plants can be developed, they may find further utility as high protein animal feed.

What are the advantages of Phytoremediation?

O the cost of the phytoremediation is lower than

that of traditional processes both in situ and ex situ O the plants can be easily monitored O the possibility of the recovery and re-use of valuable metals (by companies specializing in phyto mining) O it is potentially the least harmful method because it uses naturally occurring organisms and preserves the environment in a more natural state.

What are its limitations?

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phytoremediation is limited to the surface area and depth occupied by the roots. slow growth and low biomass require a long-term commitment with plant-based systems of remediation, it is not possible to completely prevent the leaching of contaminants into the groundwater (without the complete removal of the contaminated ground, which in itself does not resolve the problem of contamination) the survival of the plants is affected by the toxicity of the contaminated land and the general condition of the soil. bio-accumulation of contaminants, especially metals, into the plants which then pass into the food chain, from primary level consumers upwards or requires the safe disposal of the affected plant material.

Applications
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Phytoremediation may be applied wherever the soil or static water environment has become polluted or is suffering ongoing chronic pollution. Examples where phytoremediation has been used successfully include the restoration of abandoned metal-mine workings, reducing the impact of sites where polychlorinated biphenyls have been dumped during manufacture and mitigation of on-going coal mine discharges. Phytoremediation refers to the natural ability of certain plants called hyperaccumulators to bioaccumulate, degrade,or render harmless contaminants in soils, water, or air. Contaminants such as metals, pesticides, solvents, explosives, and crude oil and its derivatives, have been mitigated in phytoremediation projects worldwide. Many plants such as mustard plants, alpine pennycress, hemp, and pigweed[disambiguation needed ] have proven to be successful at hyperaccumulating contaminants at toxic waste sites.

Phytoremediation is considered a clean, cost-effective and non-environmentally disruptive technology, as opposed to mechanical cleanup methods such as soil excavation or pumping polluted groundwater. Over the past 20 years, this technology has become increasingly popular and has been employed at sites with soils contaminated with lead, uranium, and arsenic. However, one major disadvantage of phytoremediation is that it requires a long-term commitment, as the process is dependent on plant growth, tolerance to toxicity, and bioaccumulation capacity.

The End
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