Phytoremediation of dye-containing wastewater

Global industrialization in recent years has resulted in the emission of abundant anthropogenic chemicals in the surroundings and ecosystem worldwide. The management and the use of anthropogenic chemicals like dyes are associated with a history of complications because of the lack of storage, use, and proper planning. Lately, dyes tend to be an alarming risk to human health and the environment globally due to their transportation in soil, water, or over long distances, bioaccumulation in the food chain, and their dispersion affinity. Therefore, it is of great importance for remediating and destructing the dye-contaminated sites. One of the promising technologies, which has drawn the attention of various researchers over the years for eliminating these pollutants, is phytoremediation, often considered as green technology. It is a plant-based innovative and cost-effective technology that involves the rhizospheric interaction of plants or transgenic plants and microbes for producing the dye-degrading enzymes like lignin peroxidase, laccase, cytochromeP450, etc. at the contaminated sites that can mineralize and degrade different classes of dyes and their subsequent metabolites. This low-cost technology takes advantage of the ability of the plant to remove or make parent dyes less harmful or less dangerous, which makes it one of the rising technologies worldwide. This chapter gives the overview of different classes of dyes along with their hazardous effects and different processes of phytoremediation. A significant light has been shed on the defense mechanism involving the enzymes for dye removal and different studies of phytoremediation on dye. Assessment of fate metabolism of dye and lastly advantages and disadvantages of using phytoremediation for dye removal are also mentioned.