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| Phytoextraction | |||||||||||||||||
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| Phytoextraction, also known as phytoaccumulation, is one of the main types of phytomediation. Phytoextraction uses plants to remove contaminants in the soil, sediment, or water and turns them into harvestable plant biomass. This method is very clean, efficient, inexpensive and less environmentally disruptive than processes that require excavation of the soil. That is why this is one of the fastest growing methods of phytomediation. Two types of phytoextraction: natural hyper-accumulation- where plants take up contraminants unassisted induced or assisted hyper-accumulation- where a conditioning fluid is added to the soil to increase metal solubility or mobilization so the plant can absorb them more easily |
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| Examples of phytoextraction: | |||||||||||||||||
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| Arsenic- using sunflowers or bracken ferns, which can store up to 200x the amount of arsenic present in soil | |||||||||||||||||
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| Cadmium and zinc- using alpine pennycress which can withstand levels of these metals normally toxic to many plants | |||||||||||||||||