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Environmental biotechnology-I

Sumit sharma

Assistant Proff. In Biotechnology

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content

Preface
Objects of environmental biotechnology
Operations of environmental biotechnology
Bioaccumulation
Biodegradation

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Preface

Environment consists of the sum of all the factors outside an organism. It consists of both biotic as well as abiotic factors. Thus for a given organism, other organisms constitute a component of the environment, while the organism itself becomes a factors of the environment of the other organisms.
The factors of environment, however, are only abiotic, since all biotic factors derive their existence either directly or indirectly from all the abiotic environment.
The term environmental biotechnology is applied only to the end of the pipe technologies using biological agents, i.e., biotechnology approaches applied to the management of environmental problems.

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Objectives of Environmental Biotechnology

The objective of the environmental biotechnology is to use the technology with the environmental factors to cure, recycle and tackle with the problems of the environment pollution and degradation.

Specific Objectives are:

1. To borrow product processes that make optimal use of natural coffers, by recovering biomass, recovering energy and minimizing waste generation.

2. To promote the use of biotechnological ways with emphasis on bioremediation of land and water, waste treatment, soil conservation, reforestation, afforestation and land recuperation.

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3.To apply biotechnological processes and their products to cover environmental integrity with a view to long-term ecological security.��Use of biotechnology to treat pollution problems is not a new idea. Communities have depended on complex populations of naturally being microbes for sewage treatment for over a century. Every living organism—flora, fauna, bacteria and so forth—ingests nutrients to live and produces a waste as a by-product. Different organisms need different types of nutrients.��Certain bacteria thrive on the chemical factors of waste products. Some microorganisms feed on poisonous particles to others. Expolaration related environmental biotechnology is vital in developing effective results for mitigating, precluding and reversing environmental damage with the help of these living forms.

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Applications of environmental biotechnology

biodegradation

bioaccumulation

bioremediation

bioleaching

biofuels

biosensors

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Bioaccumulation

Bioaccumulation is the gradual accumulation of substances, such as pesticide or other chemicals, in an organism. Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a substance briskly than it can be lost or eliminated by catabolism and excretion. Therefore, the longer the biological half-life of a toxic substance, the greater the risk of chronic poisoning, even if environmental levels of the toxin are not very high. Bioaccumulation, for example in fish, can be predicted by models. Hypothesis for molecular size cutoff criteria for use as bioaccumulation potential indicators are not supported by data. Biotransformation can strongly modify bioaccumulation of chemicals in an organism.

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Bioaccumulation is result of three processes-�1) uptake-Bioaccumulation begins when a chemical passes from the environment into an organism's cells. Uptake is a complex process which is still not fully understood. Scientists have learned that chemicals tend to move, or diffuse, passively from a place of high concentration to one of low concentration. The force or pressure for diffusion is called the chemical potential, and it works to move a chemical from outside to inside an organism�2) storage-The same factors affecting the uptake of a chemical continue to operate inside an organism, hindering a chemical's return to the outer environment. Some chemicals are attracted to certain sites, and by binding to proteins or dissolving in fats, they are temporarily stored. If uptake slows or is not continued, or if the chemical is not very tightly bound in the cell, the body can eventually eliminate the chemical.�3) elimination-Another factor affecting bioaccumulation is whether an organism can break down and/or excrete a chemical. The biological breakdown of chemicals is termed metabolism. This ability varies among individual organisms and species and also depends on characteristics of the chemical itself.

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Biodegradation

Biodegradation publishes papers, reviews and mini-reviews on the biotransformation, mineralization, detoxification, recycling, amelioration or treatment of chemicals or waste materials by naturally-occurring microbial strains, microbial associations, or recombinant organisms.

Coverage spans a range of topics, including Biochemistry of biodegradative pathways; Genetics of biodegradative organisms and development of recombinant biodegrading organisms; Molecular biology-based studies of biodegradative microbial communities; Enhancement of naturally-occurring biodegradative properties and activities. Also featured are novel applications of biodegradation and biotransformation technology, to soil, water, sewage, heavy metals and radionuclides, organohalogens, high-COD wastes, straight-, branched-chain and aromatic hydrocarbons; Coverage extends to design and scale-up of laboratory processes and bioreactor systems. Also offered are papers on economic and legal aspects of biological treatment of waste.

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Bioremediation

Bioremediation is a branch of biotechnology that employs the use of living organisms, like microbes and bacteria to decontaminate affected areas.

It is used in the removal of contaminants, pollutants, and toxins from soil, water, and other environments.

Bioremediation is used to clean up oil spills or contaminated groundwater.

Bioremediation may be done "in situ"–at the site of the contamination–or "ex situ"–away from the site.

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How Bioremediation Works�Bioremediation relies on stimulating the growth of certain microbes that utilize contaminants like oil, solvents, and pesticides for sources of food and energy. These microbes convert contaminants into small amounts of water, as well as harmless gases like carbon dioxide.��Bioremediation requires a combination of the right temperature, nutrients, and foods. The absence of these elements may prolong the cleanup of contaminants. Conditions that are unfavorable for bioremediation may be improved by adding “amendments” to the environment, such as molasses, vegetable oil, or simple air. These amendments optimize conditions for microbes to flourish, thereby accelerating the completion of the bioremediation process.��Bioremediation can either be done "in situ", which is at the site of the contamination itself, or "ex situ," which is a location away from the site. Ex situ bioremediation may be necessary if the climate is too cold to sustain microbe activity, or if the soil is too dense for nutrients to distribute evenly. Ex situ bioremediation may require excavating and cleaning the soil above ground, which may add significant costs to the process.

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Types of bioremediation�1)Biostimulation - Microbes are stimulated to begin the remediation process via chemicals or nutrients that activate them.�2)Bioaugmentation - Used mainly in cleaning up soil contamination, this process adds bacteria to the surface of the affected area, where they are then allowed to grow.�3)Intrinsic Bioremediation - Vonverts toxic materials into inert ones using the native microbiome to the affected area.

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Bioleaching

Bioleaching (or biomining) is a process in mining and biohydrometallurgy (natural processes of interactions between microbes and minerals) that extracts valuable metals from a low-grade ore with the help of microorganisms such as bacteria or archaea.

Bioleaching techniques are often more effective than traditional mining applications and can even be used to clean mine tailings sites.