Climate-resilient wastewater phytoremediation for pollutant removal and resource recovery

Wastewater treatment plants use technologies that are designed only for contaminant degradation and do not focus on resource recovery, defying the circular economy approach. Phytoremediation is an eco-friendly and sustainable technology that is cost-effective and low on energy consumption. It utilizes the innate ability of plants to sequester pollutants and assimilate them in their biomass. This technique has long been integrated with constructed wetland systems to treat wastewater and has been successful in the natural elimination of pollutants. However, the disposal of post-phytoremediation biomass into the environment has always been a challenge. Reusing plant biomass for resource recovery could be a sustainable way to completely recycle the resources and create value from the wastewater while using a phytoremediation approach. This review critically emphasizes the potential of phytoremediation for the removal of pollutants from wastewater and underscores the worth of plant biomass for resource recovery after phytoremediation. The mechanisms of phytoremediation have been discussed, and applications of plant and associated microbial diversity have been summarized. The phytoremediation modules and plant diversity used in constructed wetlands have been discussed, and the prospects of utilizing plants for recovery of valuable products, biomass, and energy have been explored.