The U.S. creates 300 million metric tons of biohazardous waste each year from households and industry: the chemical industry alone generates approximately five million tons of waste and more than 50% of these are released into the environment.

Lots of organic contaminants are carcinogenic, break down very slowly, and tend to collect inside the environment posing considerable health risks to human and other living organisms. Bioremediation involves the use of plants (phytoremediation) and microorganisms to deal with contaminated soil and water in an environmentally friendly approach. This post will focus on the use of microorganisms to improve contaminated areas.

Microorganisms are used in a number of methods to decontaminate polluted areas and stimulate the environment. Microbial remediation entails natural attenuation, biostimulation and/or bioaugmentation. All three processes rely on the capacity of microorganisms to break down the complex molecules of chemicals in biohazardous waste and utilize these simpler molecules to develop cell parts; thereby, maintaining their very own metabolic processes.

Natural attenuation (intrinsic or natural bioremediation) relates to the process that happens naturally in contaminated soil or water, as petroleum, gas and oil are diminished by oil-degrading microorganisms local to the soils at contamination sites. An example would be the natural process that happens at old gas stations with leaky underground tanks: oil-degrading microorganisms present in the soil will eventually break down the contaminants. But, researchers are investigating ways to broaden the scope of contaminants that microorganisms would be able to digest, kind of like teaching bacteria to eat new things, and maybe even speed up the process.

Biostimulation involves the adding together of nutrients and oxygen to contaminated water or soil to promote bacterial growth and activity. Biostimulation was used following the grounding of the Exxon Valdez when fertilizer applications were applied to the contamination site to stimulate growth of indigenous oil-degrading microorganisms.

Natural attenuation and biostimulation both rely on the natural presence of microorganisms which will degrade the specific contaminant. As an illustration, following the grounding of the Exxon Valdez, the expansion of naturally occurring oil-degrading bacteria was promoted so microbial degradation of the oil could occur faster.

Whereas natural attenuation and biostimulation depend on indigenous microorganisms, bioaugmentation is utilized at sites where chemical-specific degrading microorganisms are usually not found. Bioaugmentation involves the addition of specialized microorganisms to contaminated soil or water in the contamination site or at a treatment facility (e.g. municipal wastewater treatment facility). Indigenous microorganisms, with a “taste” for that kind of contaminant, are isolated from other contamination sites of the same “flavour”, and added to the contaminated soil or water.

pond treatment

oil clean up

Catalinabiosolutions – Bioremediation involves the utilization of living organisms to clean up the environment