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Content archived on 2024-04-30

Phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soil in a controlled land treatment unit

Objective



A wide variety of plants are known to uptake soil metals through their roots,and it has been proposed that this could be exploited to remove metals fromcontaminated soils ("metal phytoremediation"). Unfortunately most soil metalsexist in a chemical form unavailable to plants. It has recently been discoveredthat when certain chemicals (metal chelators) are added to soil, thebioavailable fraction of metal increases dramatically. Under these conditions, standard crops such as corn and pea uptake large amounts of metal. Plant metal loads can exceed 2% by weight, and the contaminated tissue can then beharvested and incinerated. Before this technology can be applied in the fieldit is necessary to address a major technical problem, namely that by mobilisingsoil metals the chelator also increases the possibility that the metals migrateaway from the contaminated site and into surrounding non contaminated soils andgroundwater. The main objective of the research phase of this project is todesign a suitable containment system that would allow safe application of metalchelators. The possibility of incorporating a recovery step to allow recycling of the plant bound metal will also be addressed. If successful, this metalphytoremediation process could represent a low cost, low technology solution toa significant environmental problem present throughout the European Community.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Call for proposal

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

EAW - Exploratory awards

Coordinator

SLATER (UK) LIMITED
EU contribution
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Address
67,Goddington Road 74
SL8 5TX Bourne End
United Kingdom

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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

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Participants (1)

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