Phytoremediation Prospect in Clean Up of Contaminated Environment with Heavy Metals

Heavy metals contamination of global environment arises from natural sources directly or indirectly from anthropogenic activities such as rapid industrialization, urbanization, energy generation, improper waste management and other local anthropogenic sources. Phytoremediation is a green emerging technology used to remove pollutants from environment components. Phytoremediation, an emerging cost-effective, non-intrusive, and aesthetically pleasing technology, that uses the remarkable ability of plants to concentrate elements and compounds from the environment and to metabolize various molecules in their tissues, appears very promising for the removal of pollutants from the environment. Within this field of phytoremediation, the utilization of plants to transport and concentrate metals from the soil into the harvestable parts of roots and above ground shoots, i.e., phytoextraction, may be, at present, approaching commercialization. Due to its great potential as a viable alternative to traditional contaminated land remediation methods, phytoremediation is currently an exciting area of active research. This paper highlighted the sources and effects of heavy metals. The paper also discussed the meaning, concept, advantages, and limitations of phytoremediation.