General
Costs
Most lab, pilot, and field scale tests do not include the monitoring procedures that are expected at a site with a remediation goal. These additional procedures inflate the costs of monitoring at these test sites. As a result, it is difficult to predict the exact cost of a technology that has not been established through years of use.
However, since phytoremediation
involves the planting of trees or grasses, then it is by nature a relatively
inexpensive technology when compared to technologies that involve the use
of large scale, energy consuming equipment (USEPA, 2000). Phytoremediation
costs will vary depending on the treatment strategy. For example, harvesting
plants that bioaccumulate metals can drive up the cost of treatment when
compared to treatments that do not require harvesting. Regardless,
phytoremediation is often predicted to be cheaper than comparable technologies
such as pump and treat or land farming, but still, costs of phytoremediation
are highly site specific, so any estimate found in these tables is merely
a rough estimate of potential costs.
Estimates of Phytoremediation Costs Versus Costs of Established Technologies (USEPA, 2000)
| Contaminant | Phytoremediation Costs | Estimated Cost Using Other Technologies |
| Metals | $80 per cubic yard | $250 per cubic yard |
| Site contanimated with petroleum hydrocarbons | $70,000 | $850,000 |
| 10 acres of lead contaminated land | $500,000 | $12 million |
| Radionuclides in surface water | $2 to $6 per thousand gallons treated | None listed |
| 1 hectare to 15cm depth (various contaminants) | $2,500 to $15,000 | None listed |
Ecolotree's Inc.'s Cost Estimates of a Poplar Tree Phytoremediation System (USEPA, 2000)
| Activity | Cost |
| Installation of trees at 1450 trees/acre | $12,000 to $15,000 |
| Predesign | $15,000 |
| Design | $25,000 |
| Site Visit | $5,000 |
| Soil cover and amendments | $5,000 |
| Transportation to site | $2.14/mile |
| Operation and Maintenance | $1,500/acre
with irrigation
$1,000/acre without irrigation |
| Pruning | $500 |
| Harvest | $2,500 |
Phytotech, Inc. reports that cleanup costs, including treatment and disposal, can range from $20 - $80 per cubic yard of contaminated soil. The cost estimate given includes incineration of plants and ash disposal at a hazardous waste incinerator at a cost of $500 per cubic yard of material. If the plants can be recycled at a smelter, costs near the low end of the range can be expected.
The cost of phytoremediation for one acre of sandy loam soil to a depth of 50 cm is estimated to range from $60,000 to $100,000. This is considerably lower than the approximate cost of $400,000 for excavation and disposal of the contaminated soil at the landfill. The cost of plant disposal can be significantly less than the cost of disposal of metal-contaminated soils because contaminants have been concentrated in the much smaller plant biomass. However, the total cost of phytoremediation will depend on the rates of uptake from the soil and the number of crops which are needed to meet cleanup levels. Analysis of the costs of phytoremediation must include the entire remedial process, from growing, maintaining, and harvesting plants to disposing or recycling the metals in the plants.
Soil testing is a required
part of the phytoremediation process. There are many soil testing companies
that serve the Chicagoland area.
A basic soil test package
will be required which includes:
| Soil Test | Includes | Fee ($) | Status |
| Basic S1 | Organic matter, available phosphorous, exchangeable potassium, magnesium, calcium, soil pH, buffer pH, cation exchange capacity, and percent base saturation of cation elements | 8.60 | Required |
| Basic S4 | Zinc, manganese, iron, copper | 8.20 | Recommended |
| Particle Size Analysis | % sand, silt, and clay by hydrometer method | 15.00 | Required |
| Moisture | Moisture content | 5.00 | Recommended |
| Sodium | Sodium | 5.00 | Recommended |
| Nitrogen, Ammonia | Ammonia Nitrogen | 15.00 | Recommended |
| Nitrogen, Nitrate | Nitrate | 15.00 | Recommended |
| Nitrogen Total Kjedahl | Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen | 20.00 | Recommended |
| Lead | Lead | 12.00 | Required |
Two other required tests are a particle size analysis, to determine soil coarseness, and a test for lead. In many instances it is necessary to have many samples from each site. United States Housing and Urban Development (H.U.D) as well as EPA methods require composite sampling in different areas of even small yards. This is because even these small areas have very different Pb (Lead) levels. Sampling should provide hot spots as well as give average values for the site.