Gourt > Science > Environment > Hazardous Waste > Remediation Technology > Biological Remediation (2)
Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms, fungi, green plants or their enzymes to return the environment altered by contaminants to its original condition. Bioremediation may be employed to attack specific soil contaminants, such as chlorinated hydrocarbons that are degraded by bacteria, or a more general approach may be taken, such as oil spills that are broken down by multiple techniques including the addition of nitrate and/or sulfate fertilizers to facilitate the decomposition of crude oil by indigenous or exogenous bacteria.
Examples and problems
Naturally-occurring bioremediation and phytoremediation have been used for centuries. For example, desalination of agricultural land by phytoextraction has a long tradition. Bioremediation technology using microorganisms was reportedly invented by George M. Robinson. He was the assistant county petroleum engineer for Santa Maria California. During the 1960's he spent his spare time experimenting with dirty jars and various mixes of microbes.
Not all contaminants are easily treated through the use of bioremediation with microorganisms; for example, heavy metals such as cadmium and lead are not readily absorbed or captured by organisms. The integration of metals such as mercury into the food chain may worsen matters. Phytoremediation is useful in these circumstances, as many plants can bioaccumulate these toxins in their above-ground parts, which are then harvested for removal. The heavy metals in the harvested biomass can be further concentrated by incineration.
More on [ Bioremediation ]
Biotechnology :: Biology
Microbial Ecology :: Ecology
Environmental Microbiology :: Microbiology
RT - @rewealth: Mexico using biological remediation to restore contaminated sites abandoned by oil industry: http://bit.ly/dZitP
pauldale1 (Paul Dale) Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:23:30 -0000
RT - @rewealth: Mexico using biological remediation to restore contaminated sites abandoned by oil industry: http://bit.ly/dZitP
Bioremediation Discussion Group - Introduction to biological remediation, moderated listserver for discussion of the technical aspects of bioremediation science/engineering, and extensive collection of links to other Internet resources about biogeochemistry, hydrology, bioremediation, hazardous waste, and other environmental topics.
Center for Bioremediation - Research center focusing on the development of treatment and remediation of metals, inorganics, and metal-organic contaminants.
International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation - Publishes research and reviews on the biological causes of deterioration and degradation. Includes tables of content and subscription details.
Laboratory for Environmental Biotechnology - Describes research and training at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne in the bioremediation field, including biodegradation and phytoremediation.
Meta Description: [ Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory WebSite EPFL/LBE Laboratoire de Biotechnologie Environnementale ]
NABIR Field Research Center at Oak Ridge, Tennessee - Study site for investigating in situ bioremediation. Information about the facility, current projects, and findings.
Meta Description: [ Oak Ridge Field Research Center Information such as architecture, components, overview, diversity, presentations, reports, news, meetings, publications, journals, links ]
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NABIR: Oyster Site - Bacterial Transport - Information about and results from research on bioaugmentation to accelerate bioremediation, at a site in the coastal plain near Oyster, Virginia.
Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research (NABIR) Program - Provides the scientific understanding needed to use natural processes and to develop methods to accelerate these processes for the bioremediation of contaminated soils, sediments, and groundwater at US Department of Energy (DOE) facilities.
NPR : Arsenic Eating Microbe Discovered - Researchers in California have discovered a microbe that feasts on arsenic. [3:55 streaming audio broadcast]
Meta Description: [ There's a lake in California that's so chemically nasty that seemingly nothing could live there, except something that loves arsenic. Researchers have discovered a microbe there that feasts on the toxic stuff. ]
NPR Science Friday : Bioremediation - A discussion about bioremediation with Barbara Methe, Collaborative investigator, The Institute for Genomic Research, and Derek Lovley, distinguished university professor and head of the department of microbiology, University of Massachusetts. [32:17 streaming audio broadcast]
Meta Description: [ Scientists have sequenced the genome of a bacterium that can mop up radioactive metals in ground water. This hour, we'll talk about bioremediation -- using microbes to clean up hazardous waste. Barbara Methe *Collaborative investigator, The Institute for Genomic Research Derek Lovley *Distin... ]
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Removal of Mercury from Industrial Wastewater by Bacteria - Describes the pilot-scale demonstration of a microbiological process for detoxifying mercury compounds in aqueous effluents.
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