A Review
Study on Soil Decontamination by Phytoremediation in the
Case of Former Industrial Sites
Melania-Nicoleta BOROŞ, Valer MICLE
1Technical University of Cluj–Napoca, Muncii Bd., No. 103–105, 400641, Cluj–Napoca, Romania
Received 10 June 2015; received and revised form 25 June 2015; accepted 28 July 2015
Available online 1 September 2015
Abstract
The study presents the data that focuses on the current status of knowledge regarding soil decontamination using
phytoremediation in the case of former industrial sites. More or less, all countries are affected by the human activities,
urbanization and the industrial development. During these processes, different types of pollutants spread in soil and lead
to the deterioration of the environment. The contamination of soil is a major concern worldwide and it requires clean up
solutions that are friendly with the ecosystem and also efficient. Many former industrial sites can be treated using
phytoremediation technologies. They can be combined with landscape architecture to increase their value and
attractivity for the public and transform them in sustainable areas. Phytoremediation used for the decontamination of
soils is a viable and environmentally friendly solution because it uses plants as a mean of treating pollutants.
Keywords: environmental pollution, industrial sites, phytoremediation, soil decontamination
1. Introduction
The impact of pollutants on the environment
is very complex and includes many risks to human
health and the environment. Research that will be
conducted in this paper will contribute to an
expansion of knowledge regarding decontamination
of polluted soils using phytoremediation.
For the efficient regeneration of the former
industrial sites, it is necessary to identify the
creative technologies that can give an increased
value to the quality of life and environment.
Soil and groundwater quality can be
deteriorated by the propagation in the environment
of hazardous substances. Measures to improve the
current situation should be taken using the
management of contaminated sites [9].
* Corresponding author.
Tel: +40- 264-401622
Fax: +40-264- 415054
e-mail: [email protected]
The environment is more and more affected
by the effects of urbanization, the increase of
industry production, military activities and also the
chemicals which are produced annually at global
scale of more than 500 million tons [6].
The contamination of soil is the major
environmental problem due to the wastes generated
by industrial and urban activities. Non-contaminated
sites can be affected by the migration of
contaminants as dust and leachate. This might be
caused by mining, smelting of metalliferous ores,
waste disposal, spillage due to accidents or
processes and sewage sludge used to agricultural
soils [4].
The risks for environment and human health
due to the wastes produced require a technologically
feasible solution. Phytoremediation is an efficient,
inexpensive and environmental friendly technology
that can be used for soil decontamination [5].
Available online at
http://journals.usamvcluj.ro/index.php/promediu
ProEnvironment
ProEnvironment 8 (2015) 468 - 475
468
brought to you by COREView metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk
BOROŞ Melania Nicoleta and Valer MICLE /ProEnvironment 8(2015) 468 - 475
2. Phytoremediation of heavy metal
contaminated soils
The types of contaminants that
phytoremediation is being tested for are:
- Petroleum hydrocarbons;
- Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene
(BTEX);
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH);
- Trichloroethene (TCE) and other chlorinated
solvents;
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB);
- Heavy metals;
- Radionuclides;
- Ammunition wastes and explosives;
- Pesticide wastes;
- Nutrient wastes (phosphates, nitrates) [11].
Phytoremediation has applications in
cleaning up heavy metal polluted sites. The
principle that is the basis of treatment of
contaminated areas is the ability of some plants to
take up heavy metals from soil and accumulate them
in their tissues. They are called hypperaccumulators
and can be harvested [5].
After being used for phytoextraction and
harvested, plants can be incinerated (Fig. 1),
disposed in specialized dumps or used for the
biorecovery of precious and semiprecious metals,
process called phytomining.
Also, plant biomass that contains heavy
metals can be used for obtaining energy that can be
sold. The remaining ash after the biomass
combustion is considered to be bio-ore and can be
used for extracting heavy metals [1]. Heavy metals
like Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb are found in soil and plants in
different concentrations. Depending on the
contamination of soil, concentrations may vary and
can reach critical values, presented in Table 1.
Figure 1. The fate of plants after being used for phytoextraction [12]
Table 1.Normal range of heavy metals in soil and plants mg kg−1 (ppm) and critical concentration [3]
Element
Normal range in soil Critical soil
concentration
Normal range in plants Concentration in
metalliferous soils
Cd 0,01 – 2.0 3 – 8 0,1 – 3 11 – 317
Total Cr 5 – 1500 75 – 100 0,2 – 5 47 – 8450
Cu 2 – 250 60 – 125 5 – 25 52 – 50900
Hg 0,01 – 0,5 0,3 – 5 0,1 – 9,5 100 – 400
Ni 2 – 750 100 1 – 10 19 – 11260
Pb 2 – 300 100 – 400 0,1 – 5 3870 – 49910
Zn 1 – 900 70 – 400 2 – 400 109 – 70480
469
BOROŞ Melania Nicoleta and Valer MICLE /ProEnvironment 8(2015) 468 - 475
3. Decontamination of former industrial sites
At European Union level, it is estimated that
the number of potentially contaminated sites
exceeds 2.5 million and the number of contaminated
sites is around 342,000. The most part of the
contamination, approximately 38% is generated by
municipal and industrial waste (Fig. 2), followed by
the industrial/commercial activities with a
percentage of 34% [7].
The metal working industry has the most
polluting activities from the production sector, while
in the service sector, gasoline stations generate the
highest degree of pollution.
Figure 2. Sectors that produce soil contamination in Europe with details on the industrial / commercial sector [9]
470
BOROŞ Melania Nicoleta and Valer MICLE /ProEnvironment 8(2015) 468 - 475
In the case of active and former industrial
sites that are contaminated or continue to release
toxins in the surroundings, there should be made
restoration efforts in order to create new and stable
ecosystems. Landscape architecture has a special
purpose to transform and create a stable ecosystem.
The soil affected by the human disturbance must be
treated initially and continuously by the use of
phytoremediation. Plants that are chosen to clean up
the site, extract the contaminants from soil and
purify it. In this way, the flora develops in a
successional landscape (Fig. 3).
The presence of any type of vegetation
indicates the success of remediation, while the lack
of flora is an indicator of the need of major
measures of remediation.
An abundance of new flora means that the
new ecosystem can flourish [18].
.
Figure 3. Steps of returning a contaminated soil to a fertile condition [18]
In the phytoremediation applications, the
plants that can be utilized in the industrial areas are
willows, hybrid poplars which possess a strong
resistance to air pollution. Birches willows can be
found in industrialized zones with severe air
pollution [8].Table 2 lists some of the projects
where phytoremediation was applied with a level of
success in cleaning up the contaminated areas. The
table presents only a representative selection of
contaminants, plants and media.
Table 2.Examples of field projects treated with phytoremediation [10]
Location & Name Plants Contaminants Media
Slovenia, Barje Landfill Hybrid poplar Other, heavy metals Subsurface soil
UK, British Steel Soil based reed bed Coke oven effluent Effluent
Ukraine, Chernobyl Sunflowers, Indian mustard Radionuclides Soil, groundwater, water
USA, Former municipal landfill Hybrid poplar Heavy metals Groundwater
USA, Former truck depot Hybrid poplar, hybrid
willows
TPH in fill soil, BTEX Groundwater and soil
Bulgaria, Kurdjaly Alpine pennycress Heavy metals Soil
UK, Manchester Site Soil based reed bed Starch factory effluent Effluent
Poland, Upper Silesia Cereals, Potatoes Heavy metals Clay and silt, 0-20 cm
Australia, Whyalla Site Soil based reed bed Coke oven effluent Effluent
471
BOROŞ Melania Nicoleta and Valer MICLE /ProEnvironment 8(2015) 468 - 475
4. Phytoremediation in landscape design of
former industrial sites
Phytoremediation can be integrated in the
transformation of post-industrial sites in order to
create dynamic and sustainable areas, with more
purposes. Buiksloterham, situated in the north of
Amsterdam is a contaminated former industrial
dockland site. Proposals that combine
phytoremediation technologies with landscape
design applications were drawn up to create a
flexible and improved landscape that connects the
site with the surroundings and develops it further
(Figs. 4 and 5). While the soil is decontaminated by
the use of plants, the area becomes more attractive
and the biomass also provides the generation of
energy. The strategy applied in order to open the
areas that are subject of phytoremediation to the
public is to create three types of areas:
- Heavily contaminated areas – Closed to
public;
- Moderately contaminated – Partially
accessible;
- Clean areas – Open to everyone [13].
Figure 4. Phytoremediation as a purifying and attractive landscape concept in the Buiksloterham study case [13]
Landschaftspark, situated in Duisburg Nord,
Germany, is an implemented project of an
abandoned coal and steel production plant that was
transformed in a public park (Fig. 7).
The park is associated with the industrial
past and it was designed to preserve as much as
possible. Abandoned in 1985, the area was left with
a significant pollution and the new design allowed
the contaminated soils to remain at site and to be
treated through phytoremediation [16].The former
Meiderich Ironworks (Fig. 6) can be found in the
middle of the park and the old structures were
turned into facilities with different destinations open
to the public [15].
Successful project like the Landscape Park,
Germany, show that worth the efforts of
transforming the industrial heritage into a present
and future area of quality landscape.
472
BOROŞ Melania Nicoleta and Valer MICLE /ProEnvironment 8(2015) 468 - 475
Figure 5. Proposal of phytoextraction technology in a contaminated zone with partially accessible type of area [13]
Figure 6. Meiderich Ironworks, closed in 1985 [17]
Figure 7. Lanschaftspark, Duisburg-Nord - a successful rehabilitation project of a former industrial site that combines
phytoremediation and landscape architecture [15]
473
BOROŞ Melania Nicoleta and Valer MICLE /ProEnvironment 8(2015) 468 - 475
London's Thames Barrier Park is another
successful implemented project that won important
awards for the landscape design (Fig. 8). It was built
in two phases:
- Phase 1: The reclamation of 9 hectare of
abandoned and toxic brownfield site;
- Phase 2: Building an urban park instead of the
contaminated site [19].
Figure 8. Combining landscape architecture with the rehabilitation of a contaminated site, Case study: Thames Barrier
Park, London [14, 20]
The benefits of creating new green spaces and
using green technologies like phytoremediation are:
- Creation or expansion of ecosystems;
- Communities involvement and collaboration;
- Testing and implementing at full scale green
remediation technologies;
- Flood control;
- Educational purposes;
- Environmental renewal – improving soil, air
and groundwater quality;
- Creation of new areas for public recreation;
- Generating models for future industrial sites
redevelopment;
- Preservation of the industrial heritage;
- Economic improvement of the area;
- Identification of the what underlies in the
feeling of community and social interaction;
- Improvement of aesthetics [2].
5. Conclusion
The large number of contaminated sites
reported highlights environmental risks and their
existence without urgent action has a negative
impact on human health and the environment.
Industrial activities, urbanization, farming, have a
great influence on soil which requires measures of
treatment. Phytoremediation is environmentally-
friendly alternative to conventional soil
decontamination because it uses plants to remove
pollutants from soil. Plants are an essential
condition and an engine that can reinvigorate the
industrial landscape. Phytoremediation and
landscape architecture have an important
contribution to extending the green areas regarding
the sustainability of projects.
Acknowledgements. This work was
partially supported by the strategic grant
POSDRU/159/1.5/S/137070 (2014) of the Ministry
of National Education, Romania, co-financed by the
European Social Fund – Investing in People, within
the Sectoral Operational Programme Human
Resources Development 2007-2013.
References
[1] Ali H., Khan E., Sajad M.A., 2013, Phytoremediation
of heavy metals – Concepts and applications,
Chemosphere, 91, 869-881.
[2] De Sousa C.A., 2003, Turning brownfiels into green
space in the City of Toronto, Landscape and Urban
Planning 62 (2003), 181-198.
[3] Gardea-Torresdeya J.L., Peralta-Videab J.R., G. de la
Rosaa, Parsonsb J.G., 2005, Phytoremediation of heavy
metals and study of the metal coordination by X-ray
absorption spectroscopy, Coordination Chemistry
Reviews 249 (2005), p. 1797–1810.
[4] Ghosh M. & Singh S.P., 2005, A review on
phytoremediation of heavy metals and utilization of its
byproducts, Applied Ecology and Environmental
Research, 3(1), 1-18.
[5] Golubev I.A., 2011, Handbook of phytoremediation,
Nova Science Publishers, Inc., New York.
474
BOROŞ Melania Nicoleta and Valer MICLE /ProEnvironment 8(2015) 468 - 475
[6] Kvesitadze G., Khatisashvili G., Sadunishvili T.,
Ramsden J.J, 2006, Biochemical mechanisms of
detoxification in higher plants, Basis of
Phytoremediation, Springer, Verlag Berlin Heidelberg,
Chapter 4,185-194.
[7] Liedekerke M., Prokop G., Rabl-Berger S.,
Kibblewhite M., Louwagie G., 2014, Progress in the
management of contaminated sites in Europe, JRC
Reference Reports, European Union.
[8] Meuser H., 2013, Soil remediation and rehabilitation,
Treatment of contaminated and disturbed land, Springer,
Dordrecht, Chapter 6, 243-257.
[9] Panagos P., Liedekerke M., Yigini Y., Montanarella
L., 2013, Contaminated Sites in Europe: Review of the
Current Situation Based on Data Collected through a
European Network, Journal of Environmental and Public
Health, Volume 2013, Article ID 158764: 1-11.
[10] ***, EPA, 2000, Introduction to Phytoremediation
(EPA/600/R-99/107), National Risk Management
Research Laboratory, US.
[11] ***, EPA, 2001, Brownfields Technology Primer:
Selecting and Using Phytoremediation for Site Cleanup
(EPA542-R-01-006), Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response (5102G), US.
[12] ***, Syllabus, Handouts, and Lectures:
http://classes.biology.ucsd.edu/bicd123.SP07/
[13] ***, Healing Urban Landscapes: http://www.
archiprix.nl/national/index.php?project=3120&language=en
[14] ***, http://tonygilmour.com/urban_planning
[15] ***, New nature, Cultural landscapes & Travel:
http://nhryerson.blogspot.ro/2007/07/landschaftspark-
duisburg-nord-day-1.html
[16] ***, Duisburg Nord, Landscape park, Germany:
http://urbangreentm.blogspot.ro/2009/04/duisburg-nord-
landscape-park-germany.html
[17] ***, Industrial history: http://en.landschaftspark.
de/the-park/evolution
[18] ***, Successional Landscaping – Delray: http:/
/www. draconaei.com/?p=1139
[19] ***, London's Thames Barrier Park http://www.
architecture week.com/2002/0529/design_1-1.html
[20] ***, https://www.flickr.com/photos/joebelle/59783
70612/
475