Phytoremediation in Thailand: A summary of selected research and case histories

Abstract

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015. Collaborative research on the potential use of phytoremediation to remediate or to repair damaged habitat in Thailand and the surrounding region began in 1999. The initial research projects were planned as a joint effort between the Department of Biology at Mahidol University in Bangkok and the Environmental Science Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Collaborating faculty at the partner institutions recognized the many advantages to developing phytoremediation applications in tropical and semitropical ecosystems because of their high diversity of plant species and a favorable growing climate. Summaries of selected studies of the removal of heavy metals, metalloids, and organic contaminants by plants through biosorption, phytoextraction, or conversion processes from water, soils, and sediments are provided. The data represent a diverse array of water, soil, or sediment types with different chemical and physical characteristics studied in laboratories, greenhouses, and field sites. Data derived from synthetic water, potting soils, soils from field sites, and mining waste soils and sediments are included. The collaborative studies completed in Thailand, Canada, and the USA generally indicate that practical applications of phytoextraction may be limited due to the wide variation in contaminated sites and the requirement that multiple seasons and harvest sequences will be necessary for success. Currently phytoextraction is far from being considered a mature technology by others as well. There has been an increased interest in phytostabilization as a viable approach to phytoremediate contaminated soils and sediments in Thailand in recent years. Organic contaminants have also received increased interest by researchers in Thailand, and that trend is expected to continue.