Podcast
Questions and Answers
What does the term 'phytoremediation' derive from?
What does the term 'phytoremediation' derive from?
- Spanish and French
- Greek and Latin (correct)
- Chinese and Japanese
- English and German
What is the primary purpose of phytoremediation?
What is the primary purpose of phytoremediation?
To clean up contaminated soils, sediments, or water.
Phytoremediation is an expensive method for cleaning contaminated sites.
Phytoremediation is an expensive method for cleaning contaminated sites.
False (B)
Name one advantage of phytoremediation.
Name one advantage of phytoremediation.
Which of the following are mechanisms used in phytoremediation? (Select all that apply)
Which of the following are mechanisms used in phytoremediation? (Select all that apply)
What do hyper-accumulating plants do?
What do hyper-accumulating plants do?
What defines a hyper-accumulator plant?
What defines a hyper-accumulator plant?
Hyper-accumulating species are commonly found across various geographical locations.
Hyper-accumulating species are commonly found across various geographical locations.
Phytoextraction is proven effective at a brown field's site in ______, New Jersey.
Phytoextraction is proven effective at a brown field's site in ______, New Jersey.
Which type of contamination is phytoremediation best suited for?
Which type of contamination is phytoremediation best suited for?
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Study Notes
Phytoremediation
- Phytoremediation employs plants to clean up contaminated soil, sediment, or water.
- The term is from the Greek "phyto" (plant) and Latin "remedium" (to remove an evil).
- The "evil" could be man-made contaminants like solvents, heavy metals, pesticides, or radiation.
- Phytoremediation uses plants' natural processes to take in water and nutrients through roots, transpire water through leaves, and metabolize organic compounds, including oil and pesticides.
- Plants can accumulate toxic trace elements like heavy metals, sometimes up to 1,000 times more than the soil they grow in.
- Benefits include cost-effectiveness compared to traditional remediation methods, easy monitoring, potential for metal reclamation, and a minimally destructive approach to environmental restoration.
Metal Phytoremediation
- Natural plant abilities are used to remediate metal-contaminated sites, with three main methods:
- Phytoextraction
- Phytostabilization
- Rhizofiltration
Phytoextraction
- Utilizes plants that hyper-accumulate metals, concentrating them in roots and shoots.
- A hyper-accumulator plant contains over 0.1% of Ni, Co, Cu, Cr, or 1% of Zn in its leaves on a dry weight basis.
- Metal-hyper-accumulating plant species are often found in metal-rich soils, suggesting it's an adaptation to metal stress.
- Hyper-accumulation is a resistance mechanism to metals.
- Most known hyper-accumulating species are restricted to specific geographical areas.
- Proven effective in remediating lead-contaminated shallow soils, like at a brownfield site in Trenton, New Jersey.
- Nickel hyper-accumulation is found in New Caledonia, the Philippines, Brazil, and Cuba.
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