Journal of Petroleum & Environmental Biotechnology

Abstract

Environmental Bioremediation: A Low Cost Nature’s Natural Biotechnology for Environmental Clean-up

Maulin P Shah

Setting up of new industries or expansion of existing industrial establishments resulted in the disposal of industrial effluents, which discharge untreated effluents causing air, water, soil and solid waste pollution. Bioremediation is an ecologically sound and state-of-the-art technique that employs natural biological processes employing microorganisms, fungi, green plants or their enzymes to return the natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition. Compared with other technologies, such as thermal desorption and incineration, thermally enhanced recovery, chemical treatment, and in situ soil flushing (which may require further management of the flushing water), bioremediation may enjoy a cost advantage. Not all contaminants, however, are easily treated by bioremediation using microorganisms. While bioremediation can’t degrade inorganic contaminants, can be used to change the valence state of inorganic and cause adsorption, immobilization onto soil particulates, precipitation, uptake, accumulation, and concentration of inorganic in micro or microorganisms. This manuscript delineates the general processes of bioremediation within the soil environment, factors of bioremediation strategies, genetic engineering approaches, monitoring bioremediation, and further, the pros & cons of the technique, limitations and potential of both ex situ and in situ bioremediation as viable alternatives to conventional remediation are explained and addressed.