Prospects of phytoextraction
One of the key aspects of the acceptance of phytoextraction pertains to its performance, ultimate utilization of byproducts, and its overall economic viability. Commercialization of phytoextraction has been challenged by the expectation that site remediation should be achieved in a time comparable to other clean-up technologies . Genetic engineering has a great role to play in supplementing the list of plants available for phytoremediation by the use of engineering tools to insert into plants those genes that will enable the plant to metabolize a particular pollutant . A major goal of plant genetic engineering is to enhance the ability of plants to metabolize many of the compounds that are of environmental concern. Currently, some laboratories are using traditional breeding techniques, others are creating protoplast-fusion hybrids, and still others are looking at the direct insertion of novel genes to enhance the metabolic capabilities of plants . On the whole, phytoextraction appears a very promising technology for the removal of metal pollutants from the environment and is at present approaching commercialization.