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Phytoextraction of Cd-Contaminated Soils: Current Status and Future Challenges
Jin-Tian Li1, Alan J M Baker, Zhi-Hong Ye
1State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resource, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P. R. China.
Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology
|January 22, 2013
Summary
Phytoextraction shows promise for cleaning cadmium-contaminated soils, especially in Europe and Asia. However, further research is needed to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and gain stakeholder acceptance for widespread use.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Bioremediation
- Soil Science
Background:
- Cadmium (Cd) is a widespread and toxic environmental pollutant.
- Cadmium contamination of soils threatens safe food production globally.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively review the current status of phytoextraction technology for cleaning cadmium-contaminated soils.
- To assess the potential of various plant species for cadmium phytoextraction based on recent studies.
Main Methods:
- Review of laboratory and field-scale studies on cadmium phytoextraction over the past decade.
- Analysis of data to evaluate the effectiveness of different plant species and approaches.
Main Results:
- Field studies show encouraging results for phytoextraction of slightly to moderately cadmium-contaminated soils in Europe and Asia.
- Chelators and microorganisms have not yet significantly improved the applicability of cadmium phytoextraction.
- Phytoextraction technology is not yet ready for widespread application.
Conclusions:
- Phytoextraction offers a viable option for remediating certain cadmium-contaminated soils.
- Major challenges include improving phytoextraction efficiency, reducing costs, and increasing stakeholder acceptance.
- Further development is required for large-scale implementation of cadmium phytoextraction.
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