Phytoremediation Approaches to PAH Contaminated Soil

Abstract

Petroleum based products are the current major source of energy and their transport across the world frequently result in oil spillage, contaminating the soil and water alike. There is an overwhelming need for in situ technologies that can efficiently remediate persistent contaminants from soil in a cost-effective, environmentally friendly method. In phytoremediation, plants are utilized to clean up contaminated soil, taking advantage of their natural ability to take up, accumulate and/or degrade constituents of their soil and water. Phytoremediation processes and techniques suggest their applicability to a broad range of contaminants including various organic compounds such as chlorinated solvents, BTEX (Benzene, toluene, ethylene & xylene), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nutrients and surfactants offering a low-cost method of soil remediation technology. Chemical nature of organic contaminants, sources of contamination, microbial processes associated with plants and role of plants in PAH contaminated soil reclamation have been discussed to decipher the strategies to accomplish remediation to a large extent over short durations of exposure based on multi-process integration approaches.