Phytoremediation of PAH-Contaminated Areas

Abstract

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) include more than 200 compounds with two or more fused benzene rings, and 16 of them are particularly dangerous. PAHs present in the environment originate mainly from anthropogenic sources and undergo continuous changes, both biological (bioaccumulation and biodegradation) and without the presence of microorganisms (volatilization, leaching, sorption, photodegradation, chemical oxidation, and reactions with other compounds). PAH concentration in soils results from their accumulation in the soil and continuously occurring degradation. It was documented that plants have the ability to metabolize the benzene ring by detaching carbon, if hydrocarbons are available to plant roots, and they migrate through the stem. The efficiency of biodegradation is also correlated with the solubility of PAHs in water. High efficiency of removal of studied compounds (from 30 to more than 90 %) was achieved for, e.g., Festuca rubra, Lolium, Dactylis glomerata, Scirpus lacustris, and Typha spp. High efficiency in the cleanup of soil contaminated with PAHs was also achieved using white rot fungi such as Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus eryngii, Ganoderma lucidum, Lentinula edodes, Fomitopsis palustris, Irpex lacteus, Phanerochaete sordida, and Bjerkandera adusta or compost from edible white rot fungi such as Pleurotus ostreatus, Lentinula edodes, and other Basidiomycota—phase II mushroom compost or colonized mushroom substrate (substrate before fruiting). The use of numerous species (e.g., Pinus sylvestris L., Pinus pinea L., Pinus pinaster Ait., Pinus brutia Ten., Pinus massoniana Lamb., Pinus nigra Arn., Pinus strobus L.) also allows monitoring of lower troposphere pollution with PAHs.