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Arsenic uptake by plants and possible phytoremediation applications: a brief overview

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Abstract

This review focuses the behaviour of arsenic in plant–soil and plant–water systems, arsenic–plant cell interactions, phytoremediation, and biosorption. Arsenate and arsenite uptake by plants varies in different environment conditions. An eco-friendly and low-cost method for arsenic removal from soil–water system is phytoremediation, in which living plants are used to remove arsenic from the environment or to render it less toxic. Several factors such as soil redox conditions, arsenic speciation in soils, and the presence of phosphates play a major role. Translocation factor is the important feature for categorising plants for their remediation ability. Phytoremediation techniques often do not take into account the biosorption processes of living plants and plant litter. In biosorption techniques, contaminants can be removed by a biological substrate, as a sorbent, bacteria, fungi, algae, or vascular plants surfaces based on passive binding of arsenic or other contaminants on cell wall surfaces containing special active functional groups. Evaluation of the current literature suggests that understanding molecular level processes, and kinetic aspects in phytoremediation using advanced analytical techniques are essential for designing phytoremediation technologies with improved, predictable remedial success. Hence, more efforts are needed on addressing the molecular level behaviour of arsenic in plants, kinetics of uptake, and transfer of arsenic in plants with flowing waters, remobilisation through decay, possible methylation, and volatilisation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical and Environmental Systems Modeling Research Group, Institute of Fundamental Studies, Hantana Road, Kandy, 20000, Sri Lanka

    Meththika Vithanage

  2. Department of Botany, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    Beata B. Dabrowska

  3. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 27, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Arun B. Mukherjee

  4. Department of Land and Water Resources Engineering, KTH-International Groundwater Arsenic Research Group, Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44, Stockholm, Sweden

    Arifin Sandhi & Prosun Bhattacharya

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  1. Meththika Vithanage
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  2. Beata B. Dabrowska
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Vithanage, M., Dabrowska, B.B., Mukherjee, A.B. et al. Arsenic uptake by plants and possible phytoremediation applications: a brief overview. Environ Chem Lett 10, 217–224 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-011-0349-8

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