Bioremediation Technology
Bioremediation is the process by which microorganisms are used to degrade organic chemical waste, rendering them nontoxic or completely metabolizing them to form harmless by-products. Bioremediation can be an effective tool in an integrated clean-up program.
Bioremediation is an acceleration process of what occurs naturally on Earth. Microbial life forms have, over the eons, developed niches in the environment, whereby they utilize a variety of organic chemicals as food. These microbes include among others, bacteria, fungi, and yeasts. Some of the microbes are aerobic, while others are anaerobic.
Techniques have been developed to isolate microbes from lakes, streams, and soils that have been contaminated by different hazardous organic chemicals. These microbes often develop the capability to consume these chemicals and convert them into protein, water, and carbon dioxide.
A natural cycle is established where organic chemical contaminants are removed from the environment and eventually converted into food sources for higher life forms, including plants and animals.
Understanding this provides us with a natural leap into a more direct approach with regard to handling wastes spilled into the environment. Over the course of months, or sometimes years, any biodegradable chemical will be converted by naturally occurring organisms into innocuous products which undergo further natural recycling.
In order to accomplish biodegradation, we must first set up the conditions under which the microbes can perform their work most efficiently. This is done through site engineering. The problem that is often faced in a man-made spill is that one cannot always simply wait for the possibility of biodegradation; therefore, it becomes necessary to engineer conditions at the spill site to allow the appropriate microbes to develop and flourish. In this way, they can perform their work in a timely and financially acceptable fashion.
A number of conditions may need to be adjusted. These conditions may include proper pH, temperature, moisture, nitrogen source, phosphorus and a variety of micronutrients. Additionally, for the reactions to occur at a reasonable rate, it is necessary to provide a mixing of the microbes and the contaminants. When all the factors are met, accelerated bioremediation begins.