Remediation of environmental contaminants through phytotechnology

Environmental pollution caused by organic pollutants, radionuclides, and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) affects the quality of the biosphere (water, air, and soil). Rapid industrial growth, mining, agricultural inputs, sewage water, and industrial effluents application in soil all contribute to contamination. Remediation of these valuable resources, as well as prevention of new pollutants, have long been required to avoid negative health effects. Several remediation strategies have been applied for environmental pollutants. Phytoremediation is potentially a viable and promising approach which uses green plants to remove, detoxify, or degrade toxic PTEs from the environment. In this review, the application of phytotechnology for pollutants removal and their underlying mechanisms (phytoextraction/phytoaccumulation, phytotransformation, phytostimulation, phytovolatilization, phytorhizodegration, and phytostabilization) were studied. The current study pointed out that the efficiency of phytoremediation can be affected by various factors such as treatment time, temperature, pH, EC, OM, plant density, electric field, and chelating agents. In the end, this review systematically summarized existing knowledge, merits/demerits, prospects, and future aspects of the phytoremediation for remediating polluted soil and water bodies. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]