Prospecting for hyperaccumulators of trace elements: a review

Abstract

Specific plant species that can take up and accumulate abnormally high concentrations of elements in their aboveground tissues are referred to as "hyperaccumulators". The use of this term is justified in the case of enormous element-binding capacity of plants growing in their natural habitats and showing no toxicity symptoms. An increasing interest in the study of hyperaccumulators results from their potential applications in environmental biotechnology (phytoremediation, phytomining) and their emerging role in nanotechnology. The highest number of plant species with confirmed hyperaccumulative properties has been reported for hyperaccumulators of nickel, cadmium, zinc, manganese, arsenic and selenium. More limited data exist for plants accumulating other elements, including common pollutants (chromium, lead and boron) or elements of commercial value, such as copper, gold and rare earth elements. Different approaches have been used for the study of hyperaccumulators - geobotanical, chemical, biochemical and genetic. The chemical approach is the most important in screening for new hyperaccumulators. This article presents and critically reviews current trends in new hyperaccumulator research, emphasizing analytical methodology that is applied in identification of new hyperaccumulators of trace elements and its future perspectives.

Evaluation Of The Content Of Trace Elements In The Aerial And Underground Biomass Of Perennial Grasses Of The Genus Miscanthus

“…To illustrate the effect of the content of the microelements in soil on their content in the grasses analyzed, the bioaccumulation factor (BF) was determined to define the ratio of the element content per plant to its content in soil and to assay the mobility of microelements in the plants, the translocation factor (TF) was determined to define the content of microelements in aboveground parts to their content in roots [20,21]. Due to the formation of rhizomes in those grasses, the translocation factor was separately determined in aboveground parts and rhizomes.…”

Phytoextraction of Heavy Metals: A Promising Tool for Clean-Up of Polluted Environment?

“…These values are up to 100–1,000-fold higher than for non-hyperaccumulating species under the same conditions (Reeves, 2006 ; Rascio and Navari-Izzo, 2011 ). The number of identified hyperaccumulators has been constantly rising, with over 450 HM-hyperaccumulating species known as of 2015, found in 45 angiosperm families (Rascio and Navari-Izzo, 2011 ; Bhargava et al, 2012 ; Krzciuk and Gałuszka, 2015 ). About 25% of hyperaccumulators identified so far recruit from the family Brassicaceae ; other families rich in hyperaccumulators include Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae, Fabaceae, Scrophulariacea, Myrtaceae, Proteaceae, Caryophylaceae, Tiliaceae , etc.…”

Characterization of biofuel production from hydrothermal treatment of hyperaccumulator waste (Pteris vittata L.) in sub- and supercritical water

“…[1][2][3] As a special type of lignocellulosic biomass with carbon-rich substances, hyperaccumulator biomass, which is used for the phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated soil, has attracted signicant attention regarding its effective reutilization and reasonable disposal due to the large and annually increasing amount generated. 4,5 The efficient management and conversion of these hyperaccumulator wastes into series and high value of fuels and chemicals through appropriate process are urgently desiderate. Meanwhile, these huge quantities of hazardous biomass must be treated properly so that it does not cause any secondary contamination risk to the environment.…”