Phytoremediation toward Air Pollutants: Latest Status and Current Developments

Abstract

In recent years, air pollution has become one of the major environmental concerns that threaten health of the living organisms and its surroundings. Increasing urbanization, industrialization, and other anthropogenic activities impaired the air quality of indoor and outdoor environment. However, global organizations are focusing on ecological and biological means of solutions to reduce or eliminate dangerous contaminants from ecosystems in a sustainable manner. In this fact, plants are capable of improving or cleansing air quality and reduce the concentration of harmful pollutants from the environment through various remediation processes. Plants interact with air pollutants and fix them through various biological mechanisms in both associated and non-associated forms of microbes. In association forms, the mutualistic interaction of plant and microbes leads to higher growth efficiency of plants and results in enhanced pollutant degradation in rhizosphere as well as phyllosphere. In this background, the book chapter provides a comprehensive discussion of the existing literature and recent advances in phytoremediation process for the mitigation of harmful air pollutants. The role of indoor plants and aids for the enhancement of phytoremediation process towards air pollutants are also discussed.

Transfer and Degradation of PAHs in the Soil–Plant System: A Review

“…16,17 In a second way, PAHs can directly penetrate plants from the polluted atmosphere via gas or particle phase deposition on the cuticles or through stomatal diffusion or uptake. 18,19 Foliar uptake mainly depends on atmospheric concentrations of PAHs, environmental variables, and leaf properties. 20−22 Finally, PAHs pass through the cell wall and membrane and enter the cell.…”

“…Although the exact mechanisms involved in uptake and movement are not fully understood, it seems that H + -coupled symporters mediate active transport. In addition, it is hypothesized that the movement from soil solution to root endodermis is mediated via the apoplastic pathway, then entering the tracheary elements occurs via the symplastic pathway. , Nevertheless, root uptake and translocation or accumulation in various plant parts through the transpiration process depend on the plant species and the properties of the organic contaminant, including molecular structure, solubility, and Henry’s law constant. , In a second way, PAHs can directly penetrate plants from the polluted atmosphere via gas or particle phase deposition on the cuticles or through stomatal diffusion or uptake. , Foliar uptake mainly depends on atmospheric concentrations of PAHs, environmental variables, and leaf properties. − Finally, PAHs pass through the cell wall and membrane and enter the cell. Then they undergo different metabolic and enzymatic processes, which alter structurally and chemically by plants. , PAHs remediation in plant cells may include functionalization, conjugation, and compartmentalization. , …”