phytomining
Phytomining is the use of plants to extract valuable metals from the soil. The plants take up the metals through their roots, and the metals can then be harvested from the plant tissue. This process is an alternative to traditional mining methods, and can be used to extract metals from low-grade ores or from soils contaminated with metals. Research into phytomining has focused on a variety of different plant species, including hyperaccumulator plants which have been identified to have the ability to extract high levels of metals from the soil. Some examples of these plants include: Alyssum murale which extract nickel from soil Sedum alfredii which extract zinc and cadmium Thlaspi caerulescens which extract zinc, cadmium, nickel and lead Phytomining has been shown to be effective in laboratory studies and some pilot scale projects, but there is still ongoing research to improve the process and make it more cost-effective on a larger scale. One of the challenges with phytomining is ...
