Catabolic Enzymes and Metabolic Pathways in Phytoremediation
The Beginning Phytoremediation of organic xenobiotic chemicals
is a technology developed at The University of Iowa for treating
soils, sediments, and groundwater. It recognizes the power of
plants to recycle and treat waste chemicals through nature’s
cycles. It is already in use at hundreds of waste sites
throughout the United States, and the Environmental Engineering
and Science (EES) group has won several awards for its
introduction, including the Rudolf Hering Medal from the
American Society of Civil Engineers and the Montgomery-Watson
Best Thesis Award from the Water Environment Federation.
Phytoremediation promises cost-effective treatment of wastes by
utilizing the largest source of biocatalysts on earth – enzymes
from the plant biosphere.  The Promise First mentioned in the
literature in 1993, phytoremediation has been applied to
contaminated sites with chlorinated solvents, petrochemicals,
explosives compounds, metals and other industrial c