Basic Concepts In Environmental Biotechnology

"The book includes current and emerging concepts in the area of environmental biotechnology like pollution- source, control and measurement, bioremediation, biofuels, biosensors, conservation biotechnology etc. The book includes recent studies and innovations made in this field and incorporates case studies to help in understanding the concepts"--

Biotechnology impinges on everyone's lives. It is one of the major technologies of the twenty-first century with wide-ranging, multidisciplinary activities ranging from small entities of life to the application, and production of goods. Environmental biotechnology is a huge and fast growing field with increasing relevance for a sustainable development through protection of environment to production of biomaterials. It continues to revolutionize the understanding of basic life sustaining processes in the environment, identification and exploitation of the molecules, and its use to provide clean technologies and to deal with environmental problems. This book provides an overview of basic processes of the environment, perturbations in the environment due to natural and human activities and use of biotechnological principles for remediation for sustainable development of the environment.

A deeper insight into the complex processes involved in this field, covering the biological, chemical and engineering fundamentals needed to further develop effective methodologies. The book devotes detailed chapters to each of the four main areas of environmental biotechnology -- wastewater treatment, soil treatment, solid waste treatment, and waste gas treatment -- dealing with both the microbiological and process engineering aspects. The result is the combined knowledge contained in the extremely successful volumes 11a through 11c of the "Biotechnology" series in a handy and compact form.

The field of Environmental Sciences has acquired new dimensions in the last fifty years, due to the changing scenario of population explosion, agricultural activities for food production, rapid industrial development for commercial and household commodities and so on. The upsurge in all these activities has contributed in one way or the other to environmental problems at the local, regional and global levels. Economic growth and the continuing heavy consumption of natural resources and energy are responsible for global environmental crisis like global warming, acid rain and the destruction of the ozone layer. This has resulted in an increased interest in this area and most institutions today have included it as a part of their educational curriculum. Environmental biotechnology is a huge and fast growing field, which continues to revolutinise the understanding of basic life sustaining processes in the environment, by identifying and exploiting the biomolecules and their utilities to provide clean technologies, in order to counter environmental problems.

This book discusses environmental microbiology, phytoremediation, solid waste disposal and management, biological methods of pest management, plant biotechnology, animal biotechnology, sericulture, apiculture, industrial sustainability, and ethical issues of environmental biotechnology. This excellent collection of information is designed both as a basic environmental biotechnology textbook as well as a reference book useful to scientists, researchers and educators and provides cutting-edge illustration of the theories and principles of biotechnologies, systems, processes, and methodologies.

The application of biologically-engineered solutions toenvironmental problems has become far more readily acceptable andwidely understood. However there remains some uncertainty amongstpractitioners regarding how and where the microscopic, functionallevel fits into the macroscopic, practical applications. It isprecisely this gap which the book sets out to fill. Dividing the topic into logical strands covering pollution,waste and manufacturing, the book examines the potential forbiotechnological interventions and current industrial practice,with the underpinning microbial techniques and methods described,in context, against this background. Each chapter is supported by located case studies from a rangeof industries and countries to provide readers with an overview ofthe range of applications for biotechnology. Essential reading for undergraduates and Masters studentstaking modules in Biotechnology or Pollution Control as part ofEnvironmental Science, Environmental Management or EnvironmentalBiology programmes. It is also suitable for professionals involvedwith water, waste management and pollution control.

The past 30 years have seen the emergence of a growing desire worldwide that positive actions be taken to restore and protect the environment from the degrading effects of all forms of pollution – air, water, soil, and noise. Since pollution is a direct or indirect consequence of waste production, the seemingly idealistic demand for “zero discharge” can be construed as an unrealistic demand for zero waste. However, as long as waste continues to exist, we can only attempt to abate the subsequent pollution by converting it to a less noxious form. Three major questions usually arise when a particular type of pollution has been identi ed: (1) How serious is the pollution? (2) Is the technology to abate it available? and (3) Do the costs of abatement justify the degree of abatement achieved? This book is one of the volumes of the Handbook of Environmental Engineering series. The principal intention of this series is to help readers formulate answers to the last two questions above. The traditional approach of applying tried-and-true solutions to speci c pollution problems has been a major contributing factor to the success of environmental engineering, and has accounted in large measure for the establishment of a “methodology of pollution control. ” However, the realization of the ever-increasing complexity and interrelated nature of current environmental problems renders it imperative that intelligent planning of pollution abatement systems be undertaken.