The Potential of Phytoremediation to Treat Different Types of Wastewater - A Review

Abstract

Globally, with an increase in population, water demand is also increasing, but on the other hand, water availability is continuously decreasing due to various factors. Contamination of existing water bodies is the main factor for the freshwater shortage. Conventional methods are there to treat polluted water, but their construction and operational cost are very high. Phytoremediation is an economical, solar-driven, green plants (macrophytes) based, environment-friendly technology being researched worldwide. Many researchers contributed to identifying the potential of phytoremediation to treat different types of wastewater. Along the same line, an attempt has been made with this literature survey to contribute to technological advancement. The study results showed that water hyacinth plants could potentially treat almost all types of wastewater. Still, their use with other plants like Phragmites australis, Azolla filiculoides, Lemna minor, Typha latifolia, etc., as polyculture (mixed culture) could perform way better than the individual. It not only improves the efficiency of phytoremediation but also helps some plants to grow and perform for a long duration when used in mixed culture.