Moreover the potential of these methods is very limited and they can be applied only to small areas. 1.PHYTOREMEDIATION Phytoremediation refers to the methods and techniques by which living plants are used to clean up the environment which includes the air, soil and water which may be contaminated with
Phytosequestration"- Phytosequestration, also called phytostabilization, is a process within the root zone that limits the migration of metals through complexation, precipitation or change to less hazardous state. It generally alters the chemical and microbial composition of the soil. The transfer of pollutants between the plant cells is being facilitated by transport proteins, cells contain vacuole that acts as storage for waste in the plant. These vacuoles of root cells store contaminants that prevent any further translocation to the xylem. Phytosequestration does not need harvesting and disposal of plant, as the pollutants are absorbed by the soil; however, assessment of the system is important to validate that translocation of pollutants
Although algae have been historically used for the domestic wastewater treatment especially for nutrients like phosphorous and nitrogen removal, phycoremediation is relatively a new term used for abatement of contaminated sites by algae and their potential for wastewater treatment is however much wider in scope than its current role. Recently, various techniques are being developed to make the process more efficient through immobilization and transgenesis of algae. Immobilization of microalgae, as part of a global trend of immobilizing microbial cells in an assortment of matrices has a wide scope in biotechnological applications. Transgenesis in algae is a complex and fast-growing technology. The present work will focus on significant role and potential of algae in pollutants removal from the wastewater and gives a brief review of recent development in the field of phycoremediation.
In brief, bioremediation is the process of decontaminating and detoxifying soil and water. As mentioned earlier, one of the prime characteristics of pseudomonas is that it can break complex compounds like hydrocrarbons. This is applied in bioremediation processes whereby complex compounds in the soil are broken down into gasses like carbon dioxide or into less soluble compounds (Wasi, Tabrez & Ahmad, 2013). This area has been researched a lot because it has a lot of potential and addresses global environmental concerns. The Pseudomonas fluorescens strain are quite effective in the bioremediation of toxicants like phenols, pesticides and heavy metals.
Soil microorganisms are effective in releasing P from organic and inorganic pools of total soil P through mineralization and solubilization. The major mechanism of phosphate solubilization is the production of organic acids. The major mechanism of phosphate solubilization is the production of organic acids. Among the organic acids produced, gluconic, formic acid, 2-ketogluconic, citric, oxalic, lactic, isovaleric, succinic, glycolic and acetic acids produced from P- solubilizing bacteria. Production of organic acids results in the lowering of pH in the surroundings and many reports suggests a positive correlation between lowering of pH and mineral phosphate solubilization.
The conventional methods are expensive and are not very effective. Thus bioremediation is the need of the hour. Bioremediation uses living organisms to degrade or remove the pollutants from a contaminated site. It is defined as “Treatment that uses naturally occurring organisms to break down hazardous substances into less toxic or nontoxic substances” (EPA). The environment has the inbuilt tendency to degrade the waste which is known as intrinsic bioremediation.
HYDRPONICS INTRODUCTION Hydroponics is a part of Hydroculture . Hydroculture is the growing of plants in the absence of soil, or an aquatic based environment/medium. Plant nutrients are supplied via water. The word "hydro" is a derivative of a Greek word which means water. And culture is the process involved.
To this problem, the reclamation of water plan in Emory University is considered to be a good choice for Japanese to save their water and reuse the sources at the same time. The first reactor of WaterHub plan, the anoxic reactor, largely reduces BOD and thus solves eutrophication by removing oxygen. The two biological membrane reactors then help to filter out suspended solids, large molecules and odorous gases. Since the membranes are selectively permeable, large particles, like mercury, cadmium, calcium and so on, and smells in the water will be removed. The hydroponic reactors thus transfer the wastes products to plants, providing nutrients for the growth of microbial films, which not only decompose the wastes naturally, but also use them as energy for vegetables growth.
These type of toxic materials are not only in the demolition of biodiversity but also the degradation of human health. Pollution levels that are increasing day by day need better developments or technological discoveries immediately. Photocatalytic degradation is a new developing technique for remediation of pollutants using various nanoparticles. The present review speculates on various nanoparticles which are useful for degradation of azo dye- Congo red. Keywords: Photocatalytic Degradation, nanoparticles, Congo red.
Advantages and limitations of phytoremediation techniques Advantages: • Environmentally friendly, cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing • Metals absorbed by the plants may be extracted from harvested plant biomass. • May reduce the entry of contaminants into the environment by preventing their leakage into the groundwater