Phytoremediation: An Approach for Petrochemical Contaminated Soil of Assam

The presence of a component, impurity, or other unfavourable element that taints, corrupts, infects, renders unfit, or degrades a material, or natural environment is referred to as environmental contamination. Due to the potential negative effects caused by the chemical discharges, environmental issues have now become crucial factors to consider. Petrochemical wastes are one of the most serious environmental contaminants which comprise a large group of chemicals derived from petroleum and natural gases. The petrochemical pollutants, belonging to the groups such as greenhouse gases, volatile organic compounds, Particulate Matter (PM) with heavy metals, and polycyclic aromatic compounds, act as potential soil contaminants, causing disturbance and harm to the soil ecosystem. Phytoremediation is an emerging and eco-friendly way to mitigate petrochemical contamination of soil. It is an in situ technique to purify contaminated soil or water using plants (trees, shrubs, grasses and aquatic plants) and their associated microorganisms. This technique is favourable for tropical countries like India where there is immense growth of plants. Though plants like Mirabilis jalapa, Italian ryegrass, sorghum, maize, and alfalfa are used worldwide, in Assam also various plant species are used for remediation purposes in petrochemical-contaminated soil. Crotalaria pallida, Cyperus brevifolius, Cynodondactylon. Mimosa pudica etc. are some of the plant species that have been reported to possess the ability to degrade toxic chemicals into non-toxic or less-toxic products with the aid of microbial colonies in the soil. This review is an effort to through some light on the plants of Assam as well as worldwide along with their family in the remediation of petroleum-contaminated soil. Thus, it will be helpful to select appropriate plants for the purpose of phytoremediation.