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Phytoremediation in Thailand: A Summary of Selected Research and Case Histories*

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Phytoremediation

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Abstract

Collaborative research on the potential use of phytoremediation to remediate or to repair damaged habitat in Thailand and the surrounding region began in 1999. The initial research projects were planned as a joint effort between the Department of Biology at Mahidol University in Bangkok and the Environmental Science Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Collaborating faculty at the partner institutions recognized the many advantages to developing phytoremediation applications in tropical and semitropical ecosystems because of their high diversity of plant species and a favorable growing climate. Summaries of selected studies of the removal of heavy metals, metalloids, and organic contaminants by plants through biosorption, phytoextraction, or conversion processes from water, soils, and sediments are provided. The data represent a diverse array of water, soil, or sediment types with different chemical and physical characteristics studied in laboratories, greenhouses, and field sites. Data derived from synthetic water, potting soils, soils from field sites, and mining waste soils and sediments are included. The collaborative studies completed in Thailand, Canada, and the USA generally indicate that practical applications of phytoextraction may be limited due to the wide variation in contaminated sites and the requirement that multiple seasons and harvest sequences will be necessary for success. Currently phytoextraction is far from being considered a mature technology by others as well. There has been an increased interest in phytostabilization as a viable approach to phytoremediate contaminated soils and sediments in Thailand in recent years. Organic contaminants have also received increased interest by researchers in Thailand, and that trend is expected to continue.

* We dedicate this chapter to Alice and Larry Shepard (Rhode Island) to honor their generous support for global environmental research and education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Burapha University, Bang Saen, Thailand

    E. Suchart Upatham

  2. Faculty of Science, Mahidol University International College, Bangkok, Thailand

    Maleeya Kruatrachue

  3. Department of Biology, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand

    Prayad Pokethitiyook

  4. Department of Biology, Kasetsart University, Nakorn Prathom, Thailand

    Thanawan Panich-Pat

  5. Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of New York, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Guy R. Lanza Ph.D.

Authors
  1. E. Suchart Upatham
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  2. Maleeya Kruatrachue
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  3. Prayad Pokethitiyook
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  4. Thanawan Panich-Pat
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  5. Guy R. Lanza Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guy R. Lanza Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia

    Abid A. Ansari

  2. Centre for Biotechnology, MD University, Rohtak, Haryana, India

    Sarvajeet Singh Gill

  3. Centre for Biotechnology, MD University, Rohtak, Haryana, India

    Ritu Gill

  4. Aquatic Ecology and Microbiology, Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY - College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York, USA

    Guy R. Lanza

  5. Biotechnology and Phytoremediation, Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY - College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York, USA

    Lee Newman

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Upatham, E.S., Kruatrachue, M., Pokethitiyook, P., Panich-Pat, T., Lanza, G.R. (2015). Phytoremediation in Thailand: A Summary of Selected Research and Case Histories*. In: Ansari, A., Gill, S., Gill, R., Lanza, G., Newman, L. (eds) Phytoremediation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10395-2_24

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