Award details

Phytoremediation: an integrated biological approach to the decontamination of polluted soils

Reference	BSW13537
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Andrew Smith
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	University of Oxford
Department	Plant Sciences
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	204,104
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	09/08/2000
End date	08/08/2003
Duration	36 months

Abstract

The aim of this work is to develop an integrated system for the bioremediation of soils co- contaminated with heavy metals and organic pollutants. This will exploit plants that hyperaccumulate heavy metals in their leaves, thereby removing them from the soil, and the beneficial effect of the plant root systems on populations of soil microorganisms capable of degrading organic pollutants. To maximise rates of metal removal from the soil, recombinant DNA techniques will be used to introduce the metal-hyperaccumulation trait into high- biomass-producing brassica genotypes. In parallel, we shall investigate ways of maximising the activity of microbial communities in the rhizosphere capable of degrading organic pollutants. The synergy between metal removal by hyperaccumulating plants and degradation of organics by microbes should allow the development of novel strategy for the remediation of polluted soils. (Joint with grant 43/BSW13538)

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Engineering & Biological Systems (EBS)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	LINK: Biotreatment of Soil and Water (BSW) [1993-1999]
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

Associated awards:

BSW13538 Phytoremediation: an integrated biological approach to the decontamination of polluted soils

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