bioremediation

Examples of bioremediation in the following topics:

• Prokaryotes and Environmental Bioremediation

  • Bioremediation occurs when prokaryotes clean up a polluted environment through the natural breakdown of pollutants.
  • Microbial bioremediation is the use of prokaryotes (or microbial metabolism) to remove pollutants.
  • Certain toxic metals and oxides, such as selenium and arsenic compounds, can also be removed from water by bioremediation.
  • Mercury is an example of a toxic metal that can be removed from an environment by bioremediation.
  • To clean up these spills, bioremediation is promoted by the addition of inorganic nutrients that help bacteria to grow.

• Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

  • Bioremediation is the use of micro-organism metabolism to remove pollutants.
  • Bioremediation can occur on its own (natural attenuation or intrinsic bioremediation) or can be spurred on via the addition of fertilizers to increase the bioavailability within the medium (biostimulation).
  • Microorganisms used to perform the function of bioremediation are known as bioremediators.
  • Not all contaminants, however, are easily treated by bioremediation using microorganisms.
  • Mycoremediation, is a form of bioremediation, the process of using fungi to degrade or sequester contaminants in the environment.

• The Degradation of Synthetic Chemicals in Soils and Water

  • Microbes are used for bioremediation in situ of contaminated soil.
  • Microorganisms that can remove contaminants from the environment are called bioremediators.

• Iron Oxidation

  • G. metallireducens) can use toxic hydrocarbons such as toluene as a carbon source, there is significant interest in using these organisms as bioremediation agents in ferric iron-rich contaminated aquifers .
  • While these processes may often be less significant ecologically, they are of considerable interest for bioremediation, especially when heavy metals or radionuclides are used as electron acceptors.

• Aerobic Hydrocarbon Oxidation

  • Understanding how microbes digest hydrocarbons has started the field of microbial biodegradation, a type of bioremediation.
  • Therefore, biosurfactant-producing microorganisms may play an important role in the accelerated bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated sites.

• Betaproteobacteria

  • Nitrosomonas are useful in treatment of industrial and sewage waste and in the process of bioremediation.

• Microbes and Ecosystem Niches

  • In addition, microbial processes can be co-opted for biodegradation or bioremediation of domestic, agricultural, and industrial wastes, making the study of microbial ecology particularly important for biotechnological and environmental applications.

• Electron Donors and Acceptors in Anaerobic Respiration

  • Since some ferric iron-reducing bacteria (e.g.G. metallireducens) can use toxic hydrocarbons (e.g. toluene) as a carbon source, there is significant interest in using these organisms as bioremediation agents in ferric iron contaminated aquifers.

• Subfields of Microbiology

• Fungi Cell Structure and Function

  • Because of their varied metabolic pathways, fungi fulfill an important ecological role and are being investigated as potential tools in bioremediation.