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What's the viability of breeding plants to concentrate as much arsenic as possible, and then spending several growing seasons extracting it from fields, collect
by RodgerTheGreat 7y ago
What's the viability of breeding plants to concentrate as much arsenic as possible, and then spending several growing seasons extracting it from fields, collecting the plants, and disposing of them?
- Malic 7y agoI wondered the same. A quick Google turned up the fact, "Oh, yeah, that's been investigated and there ARE options." Chinese brake fern (Pteris vittata) seems to be a candidate: https://www.newsweek.com/plant-arsenic-chemical-highly-toxic-humans-1428988 https://www.newsweek.com/plant-arsenic-chemical-highly-toxic... Plants as Useful Vectors to Reduce Environmental Toxic Arsenic Contenthttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3913097/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3913097/ I do have to wonder if we would find ourselves inviting invasive species with such an exercise. But on the other hand, the goal is to "grow'em, burn'em, and carefully dispose of the ash" so maybe that concern is manageable.
- cmrdporcupine 7y agoFungus have been looked as one option for this. They are excellent bioaccumulators.
- ttyprintk 7y agoOr perhaps genetically modified fungus that emits a signature colorant proportional to its uptake of a contaminant. This would be a cheap way to screen a large area for levels of contamination.