Technology · Ecology & restoration / Bioremediation

Heavy-metal soil bioremediation (phytoremediation)

Using plants — and, more experimentally, engineered microbes — to take up or stabilise heavy metals in contaminated soil; chosen less often than soil replacement or washing, with staged pilots in China.

Maturity 5/9 Risk: medium Remediation Ecology & monitoring CN · EU verified 2026-10-16 · 5 Sources

1 · What it gives

Phytoremediation uses plants to remove heavy metals from soil through absorption, volatilisation, rhizofiltration and stabilisation. Compared with conventional soil replacement and soil washing, phytomanagement is often not the chosen option. A heavy-metal remediation project in Yunnan, China, reported in 2021, used a stabilisation-based system with small-scale, pilot-scale and project stages.

2 · What it replaces 6

D1	Metal-contaminated soils, mine tailings and smelter sites managed by phytostabilization, phytoextraction and rhizoremediation (gentle remediation options) instead of excavation, soil washing and inert capping Replaces: Excavation and disposal of metal-contaminated topsoil; chemical soil washing (acids, chelators such as EDTA); bare tailings covered with …	SERV
D1	Garden, allotment and lawn pest control with beneficial nematodes — Phasmarhabditis against slugs, Steinernema/Heterorhabditis against vine weevil, chafer grubs, leatherjackets — instead of metaldehyde pellets and soil insecticides Replaces: Metaldehyde slug pellets (banned outdoors in Great Britain from 2022), methiocarb pellets (EU non-renewed), soil insecticides in gardens and …	MACRO
D1	Oil and petroleum-product pollution clean-up by bioremediation — nutrient biostimulation, oil-degrading microbial preparations, landfarming/biopiles and phytoremediation — instead of chemical dispersants, burning and landfilling Replaces: Chemical dispersants (e.g. Corexit-type surfactant/solvent blends) on marine spills; in-situ burning of oil on land and water; excavation …	SERV
D2	Petroleum-contaminated soil and drill cuttings cleaned by bioremediation (landfarming, biopiles, bioaugmentation, biostimulation) instead of excavation to landfill, incineration/thermal desorption and chemical oxidation Replaces: Dig and dump" of oily soil to hazardous-waste landfill; incineration or thermal desorption; in-situ chemical oxidation (persulfate, Fenton …	SERV
D1	Biochar made by clean pyrolysis of crop, forestry and processing residues — used as a soil amendment and sold as durable carbon removal — instead of open burning, dumping or landfilling of those residues Replaces: Open burning of straw, husks, shells and prunings; dumping and landfilling of processing residues; traditional earth-kiln charcoal making …	AGROCHEM
D2	Grafting onto resistant rootstocks, biological/anaerobic soil disinfestation and biofumigation, and soilless (substrate and hydroponic) culture instead of methyl bromide and chemical soil fumigants Replaces: Methyl bromide (phased out under the Montreal Protocol, remaining critical/quarantine uses); chemical fumigants used in its place — metam …	SERV

3 · How to implement 4 steps

1
Risk source analysis
Analyse the sources of risk on the contaminated cultivated land.
2
Target and technology
Set the target and select the technology.
3
Plan and engineer
Prepare the scheme and carry out the engineering.
4
Evaluate and report
Evaluate effectiveness and compile the summary report.

4 · Who delivers

Matched suppliers (matched automatically)

MENA-Water	United Arab Emirates	Producer	active
Georem International	South Africa	Services / consulting	active
Green Water Revolution Pvt. Ltd.	India	Producer	active
OR Recycling Park	Israel	Services / consulting	active
Wakefield BioChar	United States	Producer	active
Agilix International Limited	Singapore	Not classified	active
INORA Biotech Pvt. Ltd.	India	Producer	active
Wetlands Construidos	Brazil	Services / consulting	active
EcoFix Kenya Ltd (EFK)	Kenya	Producer	active
PANGOO® Focus On Animal Natural Health!	China	Producer	active
SGTech - Zero Carbon, Sustainable Farming	Israel	Research / RTO	active
Semios	Canada	Producer	active

Leading companies and institutes (from the brief)

Foshan Tieren Environmental Technology is listed as a drafting unit of the Guangdong standard on risk management and safe utilisation of such land. Other contractors are matched by the portal under Remediation and Ecology.

5 · Rules & route to market

Route into Russia / EAEU: SERV · — (operator: Rosprirodnadzor, Rostechnadzor)
none for the service; operator permits (integrated environmental permit ~1 month)
Information, not legal advice — confirm the procedure for your product. (2026-10-06)

United States

The sources reviewed on 2026-10-16 identified no the US regulator or standard specific to this technology. Treat the route as case-by-case and ask for a check.

European Union

The sources reviewed on 2026-10-16 identified no the EU regulator or standard specific to this technology. Treat the route as case-by-case and ask for a check.

China

In Guangdong, the local standard DB44/T 2263.3-2020 governs safe utilisation technology for heavy-metal-contaminated cultivated land.

6 · Money: tenders & grants

Grant	Innovative biotechnologies to restore soil health and improve agricultural competitiveness and resilience European Commission · EU	Apr 8, 2027 174 days
Grant	Open topic: Using the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative to strengthen urban manufacturing in support of … European Commission · EU	Apr 8, 2027 174 days

7 · Tech stack & innovations

Main risk from the sources: introducing resistance genes or synthetic metabolic circuits into remediation microbes risks genetic exchange with native microbes and unpredictable ecological consequences.

Sources 5

Scies.org — www.scies.org 2026-10-16
Bzchaxun.com — www.bzchaxun.com 2026-10-16
Doi.org — doi.org 2026-10-16
Casb.org.cn — www.casb.org.cn 2026-10-16
Mdpi.com — www.mdpi.com 2026-10-16