Bioremediation- A second Chance

 

INTRODUCTION

 

As the human race progresses and grows so does our waste and the rate of contamination of natural environments which leads to a gradual decline in ecosystem quality and bioremediation may be able to offer a solution to this conundrum. It is a branch of biotechnology that uses living organisms such as microbes and bacteria to treat contaminated pollutants, and toxins from soil, water, and other environments.

The application of this process falls into two categories: in situ and ex-situ.

•         In situ bioremediation: treats contaminated soil or groundwater in its original spot.

•        Ex-situ bioremediation: procedures necessarily require the excavation of contaminated sites or the pumping of groundwater before they've been treated.

Microorganisms carry out this amazing feat by constantly metabolizing chemical compounds to produce carbon dioxide or methane, water, and biomass. Put another way, contaminants are enzymatically transformed into less toxic or benign metabolites. And due to this bioremediation can be applied to a variety of fields which range from cleaning up contaminated groundwater, clearing up oil spills, using fungi that can deteriorate plastic with their enzymes, and utilize the degradation compounds as a carbon and energy source (stambuk, 2018). These uses merely scratch the surface of possibilities that bioremediation can achieve and we’ll be pondering on some of them.

 

 

APPLICATIONS

Bioremediation of radioactive waste

Bioremediation is based on the employment of bacteria, plants, and fungus (natural or bioengineered) to catalyze chemical conditions that help radionuclide contaminated areas to be decontaminated. Because of the unstable nature of ionizing radiation emissions, these radio nuclide particles are by-products of nuclear energy and pose a pollution and radiotoxicity concern. The species engaged in bioremediation have the potential to alter radionuclide qualities such as solubility, bioavailability, and mobility to speed radionuclide stabilization and to accomplish their function in situ or ex-situ systems. (GRAU, 2016)

Biotransformation using Probiotics

Probiotics are remediation agents that are assumed to assist the host in responding to external changes. Probiotics are live microorganism feed supplements that have a positive effect on the host (humans, animals, and plants) by balancing the intestinal microbes. In addition to being feed supplements, some probiotics act as agents of bioremediation by degrading or breaking down harmful substances. Typically, microorganisms or their products are used to remove or break down the pollutants in the environment. In some cases, plants are used so in those situations we refer to the process as 'phytoremediation'. Probiotics can manifest this ability to reduce concerning pollutants to harmless forms by altering the structure of the component thus rendering it harmless. They are even safe enough for human consumption and can be found in the yogurt we eat and the food supplements we take hence it has piqued the interest of several researchers that have started to realize the benefits of applying a similar strategy towards livestock, agriculture, and fisheries. A study was conducted using probiotics and applied to aquaculture and the results yielded showed an increased nutritional content and uptake of food by increasing the solubility area. Digestive enzyme activity improved. Increased rate of growth-inhibiting pathogenic factors. Boosted autoimmune reactions; and improved water quality in fishing grounds. (Qomarudin Helmy, 2019)

BIO-FILTRATION

A variety of volatile compounds produced by several industrial processes cause air pollution. Whereas chemical scrubbing was applied to clean gases emitted by chimneys, the latest method known as ‘bio-filtration' is aiding in the cleaning of industrial gases. This process includes passing contaminated air through a swappable culture medium of microorganisms that degrade toxins into products.

AGRICULTURAL BIOREMEDIATION

One method of improving the soil quality of the environment is to incorporate microbes into the land via compost. Making organic wastes from organic matter, such as agrarian byproducts, domestic, market, and municipal solid waste should indeed be encouraged. More efficient compost creating technique can be applied by introducing an initiator or microbes that increase the breakdown and the studies and rediscoveries of this finding enable us to repopulate barren lands and overtime enabling scarce grounds for farming or just simply repurposing the ground for vegetation growth.

ADVANTAGES OF BIOREMEDIATION

Bioremediation has several benefits over other techniques of treatment. It protects the environment by depending exclusively on natural processes. Bioremediation is frequently carried out underground, where additives and microorganisms may be injected to clear away pollutants in groundwater and soil. As a result, bioremediation has less of an impact on nearby populations than other cleanup methods. Because toxins and pollutants are transformed into water and innocuous gases such as carbon dioxide, the bioremediation technique yields very few hazardous consequences. Finally, bioremediation is less expensive than other cleanup procedures since it does not need large amounts of hardware or manpower.

CONCLUSION

The world population keeps growing at an astounding pace, with projections predicting that it will exceed 9 billion by 2050. The extensive industrial and agricultural systems required to maintain such a huge population would eventually result in soil, water, and air pollution. Which is estimated to cause 62 million fatalities per year, accounting for 40 percent of worldwide tallies, while the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that approximately 7 million people are being killed each year as a result of the air they inhale. Water systems fare no better, with an estimated 70% of industrial waste discharged into nearby waterways.

Bioremediation is not a new method, though as our understanding of the underlying microbial processes grows, so does our capacity to employ it to our benefit. Bioremediation frequently takes limited resources and far less energy than traditional technologies and does not generate harmful by-products as waste. Bioremediation provides both technological and financial advantages. Bioremediation may be customized to the demands of the contaminated location, and the particular microorganisms capable of breaking down the contaminant are promoted by choosing the limiting factor required to stimulate their development. This tailoring can be enhanced further by utilizing synthetic biology methods to pre-adapt microorganisms to the environmental pollutants where they would be introduced.

Pollution endangers human health and harms the ecosystem, threatening animals as well as the planet's stability. Soil degradation affects the ability to grow food. Bioremediation can assist to decrease and eliminate pollutants from the environment, ensuring clean water, air, and soil for succeeding generations.

By: Syed Imtiaz

References

1. GRAU, F. X. (2016, january). bioremediation of radioactive waste. Retrieved from core.ac.uk.
2. Qomarudin Helmy, E. K. (2019). Probiotics and Bioremediation. InTechOpen.
3. Stambuk, j. (2018, january). https://core.ac.uk/reader/162616209. Retrieved from core.ac.uk.