There is an increasing contamination of soils due to heavy metals. Generally, this contamination occurs because of deposits in open air due to mineral processing. Since inorganic pollutants in soil can persist for a long time and cannot be degraded on their own, it causes a significant environmental and public health challenge. Often, conventional remediation methods such as encapsulation, excavation and soil washing require high costs, energy efficiency and causes a disruption in the ecosystem failing to find a sustainable solution.
Phyto-mining and phyto-remediation can go hand in hand by using hyperaccumulation plants to extract metals from the soil. The advantages include recovering valuable metals while remediating contaminated soils without destroying the environment. Also, plant biomass can be used as a resource for energy production or industrial products achieving sustainable and circular economy. Lands that were once used for industrial purposes possibly contaminated with heavy metals can be cleaned up. Therefore, this process not only is considered sustainable but it is a low-cost alternative that brings economic, environmental and ecological benefits.