Phytoremediation

Phytoremediation is a cost-effective plant-based environment clean-up technique from inorganic and organic pollutants based on plant ability to extract, concentrate and transport hazardous chemical compounds from soils. Based on the compound physicochemical parameters and plant metabolic capability to metabolize the compound, 5 different types of phytoremediation are distinguished.

Phytostabilization is a process of metal mobility restriction by their precipitation in the root zone by symbiotic plant-microorganism interaction. Rhizofiltration is a process of pollutant adsorption inside the root. In case the pollutant is translocated after adsorption, phytoextraction is distinguished. Phytodegradation is related to the enzymatic metabolization of organic pollutants exclusively. Phytovolatilization is distinguished in case the pollutant was transformed into volatile compounds and transferred into air, which is true for organic, as well as inorganic pollutants.

Root vegetables are well known for their ability to accumulate pollutants, which threaten the health of the consumers [Meharg, 2016; Zhang et al., 2017; Gao et al., 2021] and impose importance on heavy metal and pesticide content control in agricultural products [European Environment Agency, 2020b].

On the other hand, the phytoextraction ability of root vegetables, particularly carrots, was assessed by different scientific groups and came up with promising results [Babaeian et al., 2016; Szabò, Czellér, 2009; Ding et al., 2014]. However, there is limited literature addressing the final fate of plant biomass after the phytoremediation cycle is finished. A number of studies addressed possibilities of maximizing profit from the harvested contaminated plants by processing them [Cozma et al., 2021], but to my knowledge nobody focused on heavy metal recovery and plant residues application in a separate product.