Figure 7.

Proposed mechanism of phytovolatilization. (1) The process begins with the uptake and mobilization of the pollutant in the roots. (2) At the same time, the translocation of some ions, mainly metals, starts to reduce the produced stress in plant tissues. (3) The rest of the pollutants are transported to the photosynthetic area and start two main processes: (4) the evapotranspiration acts similarly to a vacuum to extract, in the presence of water, the pollutants and transport them into the atmosphere; meanwhile, (5) the combination of temperature and UV rays volatilizes the pollutants near the stomata of the leaves, mobilizing a great portion of the pollutants into the atmosphere, but transformed into less ecotoxic components/metabolites [130].