Removal of Inorganic and Organic Contaminants from Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems Through Phytoremediation and Biosorption

Abstract

Escalated industrialization, inappropriate waste management practices, mining, landfill operations, and application of sewage sludge have caused excess contamination of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. As a consequence, human beings pose serious threats to life-supporting resources, i.e., air, soil, and water. Heavy metals and pesticides are a special class of contaminants having wide variety of effects. When the contaminated lands are used for agriculture practices, contaminants like heavy metals and pesticides get transferred from soil to food chain which leads to bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Phytoremediation (a technique that exploits plants ability to lessen, eradicate, degrade, or immobilize the environmental contaminants, with the aim of restoring the contaminated area) is gaining advantage over other conventional treatment techniques being economical, environmentally sound, and aesthetically acceptable. Conventional approaches for cleanup and restoration of heavy metals and pesticides from contaminated environment have some unavoidable precincts like high cost and creation of secondary pollutants. Many aquatic and terrestrial plants such as Eichhornia, Pistia, Lemna, Salvinia, Typha, Hydrilla, Ricinus, Brassica, Arabidopsis, Vetiver, Solanum, etc. are capable of accumulating heavy metals and can be used as agents for eco-restoration of degraded ecosystems. Further, biosorption has also emerged as an innovative, eco-friendly, cost-effective, and probable substitute for the removal and/or recovery of inorganic contaminants from aqueous medium. Biosorption can be applicable over wide range of temperature and pH, with rapid kinetics of adsorption and desorption and low capital and operation cost. Even, biological biomass can again be regenerated for reuse.