Phytocapping technology for sustainable management of contaminated sites: case studies, challenges, and future prospects (original) (raw)

Phytoremediation and rehabilitation of municipal solid waste landfills and dumpsites: A brief review

Waste Management, 2006

Environmental problems posed by municipal solid waste (MSW) are well documented. Scientifically designed landfills and/or open dumpsites are used to dispose MSW in many developed and developing countries. Non-availability of land and need to reuse the dumpsite space, especially in urban areas, call for rehabilitation of these facilities. A variety of options have been tried to achieve the goals of rehabilitation. In the last couple of decades, phytoremediation, collectively referring to all plant-based technologies using green plants to remediate and rehabilitate municipal solid waste landfills and dumpsites, has emerged as a potential candidate. Research and development activities relating to different aspects of phytoremediation are keeping the interest of scientists and engineers alive and enriching the literature. Being a subject of multi-disciplinary interest, findings of phytoremediation research has resulted in generation of enormous data and their publication in a variety of journals and books. Collating data from such diverse sources would help understand the dynamics and dimensions of landfill and dumpsite rehabilitation. This review is an attempt in this direction.

Phyto cover for Sanitary Landfill Sites: A brief review

Landfill gases (LFG) are produced due to biodegradation of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW) when water comes in contact with buried wastes. The conventional clay cover is still practiced to mitigate the percolation of water in landfills in India. Gas extraction systems in landfill for gas collection are used but are much expensive. Thus, " Phytocapping " technique can be one of the alternatives to mitigate landfill gases and to minimize percolation of water into the landfill. Indian plants with locally available soil and municipal solid waste can be tested for the purpose of methane mitigation, heavy metals remediation from leachate. Methane oxidation due to vegetation can be observed compared to non-vegetated landfill. Root zone methane concentrations can be monitored for the plant species.

Phytocapping: an alternative technique for landfill remediation

International Journal of Environment …, 2010

An alternative technique of landfill remediation known as' Phytocapping'was trialled at Rockhampton, Australia. Twenty one tree species were established on two types of phytocaps (thick cap; 1400 mm soil and thin cap; 700 mm). The trial was monitored for ...

Managing Former Landfill Sites a Case Study of Ecorestoration from Kochi, Kerala

Green Chemistry & Technology Letters, 2016

This paper describes the dramatic success in the eco-restoration of a heavy-metal contaminated open garbage dump at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), a 1450-bed super-specialty hospital located in Kochi, Kerala, India. Today, the hospital caters to over 10 lakh patients annually. Inspired by our Chancellor’s vision of zero-waste, the hospital undertook its journey with a view to also reducing massive greenhouse gas emissions that result from improper handling of waste. Today, the hospital manages its municipal solid waste on an industrial scale, composting some eight metric tonnes of organic waste daily.This case study outlines the path followed to achieve zero-waste. Alongside, the rehabilitation of a former dump site is described in detail at this very site are carried out all composting operations of AIMS. Within three years of the restoration activities, heavy metal concentrations in the contaminated soil reduced drastically.There was relatively low uptake of the ...

Sustainable Solid Waste Management in India

2012

This report proposes a waste disposal system which includes integrated informal recycling, small scale biomethanation, MBT and RDF/WTE. Informal recycling can be integrated into the formal system by training and employing waste pickers to conduct door-to-door collection of wastes, and by allowing them to sell the recyclables they collected. Waste pickers should also be employed at material recovery facilities (or MRFs) to increase the percentage of recycling. Single households, restaurants, food courts and other sources of separated organic waste should be encouraged to employ small scale biomethanation and use the biogas for cooking purposes. Use of compost product from mixed wastes for agriculture should be regulated. It should be used for gardening purposes only or as landfill cover. Rejects from the composting facility should be combusted in a waste-to-energy facility to recover energy. Ash from WTE facilities should be used to make bricks or should be contained in a sanitary landfill facility. Such a system will divert 93.5% of MSW from landfilling, and increase the life span of a landfill from 20 years to 300 years. It will also decrease disease, improve the quality of life of urban Indians, and avoid environmental pollution.