Potential Use of Green Plants for Removing Heavy Metals from the Environment

Abstract

The contamination of the environment by heavy metals poses a serious threat to human health and the ecosystem. Removal of heavy metals from wastewater and soil is of prime importance for a clean environment and human health. Green technology uses different types of plants to extract contaminants from the environment. This potential approach to cleaning the environment, termed phytoremediation, is emerging as a low-cost and eco-friendly treatment technology. The introduction of novel traits for the uptake and accumulation of pollutants into high biomass plants is proving a successful strategy for the development of improved phytoremediators. In this review, we describe the recently available information on using plants for treating environmental contamination. Some recent innovative technologies for improving phytoremediation are highlighted.