Potential use of Pennisetum purpureum for phytoremediation and bioenergy production: a mini review

Abstract

Organic and/or heavy metal pollutants in soil and wastewater can be remediated by phytoremediation. Phytoremediation combines the disciplines of plant physiology, soil microbiology and soil chemistry. There are several ways by which plants extract, stabilize, filtrate, volatilize or degrade the contaminants. However, the effectiveness of phytoremediation relies upon the type of plant used. Pennisetum purpureum, commonly referred to as Napier grass, is one of the exceptional phytoremediators due to its rapid growth rate and ability to survive in highly contaminated soils. In the present review, the potential use and applicability of P. purpureum to remediate various contaminated areas was highlighted and comprehensively discussed, especially the five phytoremediation mechanisms involved (i.e., phytodegradation, phytoextraction, phytofiltration, phytostabilization, phytovolatilization). The application and management of P. purpureum in soil and wastewater phytoremediation were also critically presented. The coupling of phytoremediation and bioenergy is the zero-waste concept that can be applied since P. purpureum contains high lignocellulosic content that can be utilized as carbon source for biofuel production, such as ethanol and butanol.

Nghiên cứu trồng cỏ voi trong hệ thống đất ngập nước nhân tạo dòng chảy ngầm xử lý nước thải sinh hoạt

“…Cỏ voi sinh trưởng nhanh, cho sinh khối cao, chống chịu tốt các điều kiện môi trường, và có khả năng hấp thu kim loại nặng (Qin et al, 2022). Các nghiên cứu trước đây đã sử dụng cỏ voi để xử lý nước thải chăn nuôi heo (Pantip, 2016), nước thải nhà máy dầu (Osman et al, 2020) và nước thải sinh hoạt (Xu et al, 2015) trong hệ thống ĐNN. Cỏ voi có thể hấp thu rất tốt đối với cả nitrogenvà phosphate trong nước thải sinh hoạt (Xu et al, 2015).…”

Circular Economy Framework for Energy Recovery in Phytoremediation of Domestic Wastewater

“…The outcome of the study indicated that hemp growth has been successfully proved at the field scale for phytoremediation and in key bioenergy conversion technologies. Additionally, Osman et al [22] investigated the potential of employing Pennisetum purpureum for phytoremediation and bioenergy production. The study revealed that P. purpureum contains high levels of lignocellulosic content, which can be used as a carbon source for the production of bioenergy like ethanol and butanol.…”

Analysis of global Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus) collections reveals high genetic diversity among genotypes with some redundancy between collections

“…Napier grass is mainly cultivated as a forage crop for animal feed due to its high palatability and feed quality, high dry matter production (up to 78 tons of dry matter/ha/year), and year-round availability under supplementary irrigation 1 , 5 – 7 . In addition, Napier grass has the potential to produce biofuels such as alcohol, ethanol and butanol, and methane since it has high cellulose content that can be used as a carbon (energy) source 8 – 11 . It has many other beneficial characteristics, including resistance to most pests and diseases, ease of establishment and fast regrowth capacity, withstanding repeated cuttings.…”