Jatropha Curcas for Phytoremediation of Refinery Sludge

One of the most important environmental problems that arise globally is heavy metal pollution in soil which causes major toxic effect on humans, animals, microorganisms, and plants. Phytromediation is a green technology in which non-edible plants are used to remove by absorbing organic and inorganic contaminant from soil, sediment and water.
This study evaluated the heavy metal concentration in plant tissues of Jatropha curcas grown in a mixture of healthy soil and refinery sludge from Petronas Penapisan (Terengganu), Kertih, Malaysia. The plant Jatropha Curcas was investigated for its ability to remediate Lead, Zinc and Nickel polluted soil with refinery sludge at ambient conditions. Various levels of single and mixed pollutants were exposed to the plant for more than three month.
The plant seedlings of Jatropha Curcas were planted in pot with different refinery sludge to soil ratio at five treatment levels based on the weight percent. The results indicate that the best heavy metal uptake for both Zn and Pb is at Jatropha Curcas root.
The Jatropha curcas found to have a high potential to accumulate high amounts of lead and zinc in its roots, leaves and stems. The plant in medium contaminated soils showed an excellent translocation along the plant parts. This already demonstrates that this plant species was able to tolerate and accumulate a high concentration of heavy metals. This non-edible plant, Jatropha curcas can be an ideal option to be grown for phytoremediation in multi-metal contaminated sites and to mitigate the soil pollution.