Chapter12 - Heavy metal contamination and their remediation

Abstract

Heavy metal contamination is one of the world’s most important concerns, and the rise of industry in some nations has polluted the environment in various ways. To remediate heavy metal contamination from the environment, many methods including physics, chemistry, and biology have been applied. Most of them seem to have drawbacks, such as cost, time commitment, logistical challenges, and mechanical engagement. Currently, in-situ metal fixation, phytoremediation, and biotechnology have shown to be the most effective methods for removing metals (metals) from soil. In this section, we evaluated the various remediation approaches for extracting heavy metals from soil, focusing on the on-site fixation process. The goal of remediation at the pollutant area is to minimize heavy metals’ access into the environment, food chain, and human exposure. The approach utilized at a particular location is determined by a number of criteria, including the natural changes that occur at the contaminated site, the type of soil, the type of chemical material, and the depth of the polluted area. Soil pollution of heavy metals has increased significantly of numerous human and natural activities, creating an increasing need for people to address environmental issues. Various remediation strategies for contaminated soil are being developed, but biologically based solutions, including phytoremediation technologies, are developing. The employment of highly accumulating species or chelation augmentation techniques for plant volatilization, plant stability, and plant extraction is an example of phytoremediation. The microbiota on the rhizosphere might play a vital role in strengthening phytoremediation as a viable technique, but the use of genetic engineering can also boost the success rate of this technique. In this section, we examine the main facts on the impacts of heavy metal toxicity components and the potential remediation and phytoremediation, as well as evaluate the potential and constraints of the research on this topic.