Harnessing the potential of phytoremediation for mitigating the risk of emerging contaminants

The ubiquity of emerging contaminants (ECs) has led to increased public concerns due to their potential adverse effects on human and environmental health. Phytoremediation is a viable strategy for managing pollution as it offers a sustainable, cost-efficient, and in situ option and is especially amenable for addressing EC contamination that occurs at low levels and in a diffused manner. This short review summarizes phytoremediation processes and propounds its potential application to address ECs under different scenarios. Plants in green infrastructures such as wetlands and in agricultural fields receiving wastewater/biosolids play a critical role in attenuating ECs. Our knowledge of plant interactions with other man-made chemicals, such as pesticides, may be transferred to mitigating EC pollution. Future research should explore metabolism potentials of plants and rhizospheres, identify hyperaccumulating plants for high-risk ECs, and use advanced modeling to prescreen ECs and predict the efficiency of plant-based systems in addressing ECs contamination issues.