Phytomining

Quick meaning: Phytomining is a noun meaning (biotechnology) The planting and harvesting of vegetation that selectively concentrates specific metals from the environment into their tissues, for the purpose of commercial exploitation of the extracted metal.

Meaning

(biotechnology) The planting and harvesting of vegetation that selectively concentrates specific metals from the environment into their tissues, for the purpose of commercial exploitation of the extracted metal.

Example Sentences

The three metals, nickel, thallium and gold were reported as candidates for phytomining in 1999 owing to the relatively high price that each metal commands on international commodity markets.

Cultivation of hyperaccumulators on naturally enriched areas offers the greatest promise for use in phytomining. Phytomining is a more specific form of phytoremediation where the purpose of metal removal from soil is economic gain.

Added value to the phytoextraction process could be obtained by combining the biomass produced as an energy source, resulting in an ore after incinerating the residual biomass. This would be possible in the case of phytomining, a particular example of phytoextraction. Phytomining involves the exploitation of subeconomic ore bodies using hyperaccumulating plants.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include phytoremediation, phytotechnology, biometallurgy, phytoaccumulation, hyperaccumulator, biopharming.

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