Research Updates on Heavy Metal Phytoremediation: Enhancements, Efficient Post-harvesting Strategies and Economic Opportunities

Abstract

The remediation of heavy metal-contaminated sites must be viewed seriously as they affect the animal and human health. The amount of heavy metal released from the industries into the environment is expected to be more in the future due to rapid urbanization, industrialization, increased population and war spoil. The plant-mediated remediation of heavy metals from the contaminated site known as ‘phytoremediation’ was found to be effective, economically viable and safe. In this review, we elaborate the effect of heavy metal on human health, mechanisms of metal uptake in plants, enhancement techniques and challenges in the implementation of phytoremediation, comparison of existing physiochemical methods available for heavy metal with phytoremediation and disposal of metal-contaminated plant biomass in the economically profitable ways.