Open AccessPlant production possibilities on a heavy metal contaminated soil with the purpose of biorefinery
Author(s) -
Ágnes Dergez,
Lajos Blaskó,
Diána Bordás,
György Zsigrai,
István Kiss,
Sándor Szabó
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
acta agraria debreceniensis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2416-1640
DOI - 10.34101/actaagrar/i/8405
Subject(s) - biorefinery , contamination , raw material , biomass (ecology) , environmental science , soil contamination , pulp and paper industry , waste management , microbiology and biotechnology , environmental chemistry , chemistry , biology , agronomy , engineering , ecology , organic chemistry
Significant part of not cultivated area of Hungary is not suitable for agricultural utilization because of industrialpollution. Technologies of biorefinery make reutilization of contaminated areas possible. Biomass of plantsproduced on polluted soils can be raw material of valuable products. Applicability of biorefinery was tested on aheavy metal polluted soil, where the contamination originated from previous mining activity. Complete biomassutilization was aimed to obtain cosmetic ingredients, pharmaceutical agents, and precursors. During our researchwork 88 plant species and varieties were produced and tested for potential utilizable components. Levels ofpossible contaminants in these plants were monitored, and amounts of carbohydrates, protein, organic acid andcellulose were determined as well. Different plant extracts were tested as potential sources of biologically effectivecomponents or as raw materials for lactic acid fermentation. Our results show that biorefinery is a real possibilityfor utilization of polluted areas. Numerous plants could be cultivated on contaminated areas without increasedlevels of contaminants in their tissues, thus they can be sources of valuable compounds.