Bioremediation Of Pollutants In Soil And Water

Reproduced typescripts of 17 papers from a symposium in Fort Worth, Texas, in October 1993 discuss technical aspects of biological methods for cleaning up polluted sites. They cover the economics of bioremediation compared with other methods, the special problems associated with polynuclear aromatic

Increased industrial and agricultural activity has led to the contamination of the earth's soil and groundwater resources with hazardous chemicals. The presence of heavy metals, dyes, fluorides, dissolved solids, and many other pollutants used in industry and agriculture are responsible for hazardous levels of water pollution. The removal of these pollutants in water resources is challenging. Bioremediation is a new technique that employs living organisms, usually bacteria and fungi, to remove pollutants from soil and water, preferably in situ. This approach is more cost-effective than traditional techniques, such as incineration of soils and carbon filtration of water. It requires understanding how organisms consume and transform polluting chemicals, survive in polluted environments, and how they should be employed in the field. Bioremediation for Environmental Pollutants discusses the latest research in green chemistry and practices and principles involved in quality improvement of water by remediation. It covers different aspects of environmental problems and their remedies with up-to-date developments in the field of bioremediation of industrial/environmental pollutants. Volume 1 focuses on the bioremediation of heavy metals, pesticides, textile dyes removal, petroleum hydrocarbon, microplastics and plastics. This book is invaluable for researchers and scientists in environmental science, environmental microbiology, and waste management. It also serves as a learning resource for graduate and undergraduate students in environmental science, microbiology, limnology, freshwater ecology, and microbial biotechnology.

Despite having been published about two years ago for the first time, the continuous demand for this book encouraged me to prepare this revised and enlarged edition. Many parts of the text have been rewritten, type errors traced and corrected, and the bibliography largely modified to include many of the references published about the subject of soil pollution in the previous ten years. I should like to express my thanks to the staff of Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, for their cooperative efforts in preparing this edition. I also would like to thank Mr. Michael Sidwell (B.A.) for the extreme but characteristic care with which he read and revised the proofs. I hope that, in this new edition, the book may continue to serve the needs of students and professionals alike interested in the subject of soil pollution. Ibrahim A. Mirsal Preface to the First Edition Whoever has enjoyed following the legendary duel between the Egyptian Pharaoh and his magicians (Alchemists) on one side, and Moses and his brother Aaron on the other, as is vividly narrated in the Bible, must have realised that people (at least those living at, or near the eternal battlefields of the Middle East) have always had knowledge about the terrible consequences of soil pollution by chemicals. This knowledge must have existed long before Moses and his Pharaoh. Nobody knows when people became aware of this, yet it must have been born in very early times, reaching back to the dawn of human conscious.

This book is a compilation of detailed and latest knowledge on the various types of environmental pollutants released from various natural as well as anthropogenic sources, their toxicological effects in environments, humans, animals and plants as well as various bioremediation approaches for their safe disposal into the environments. In this book, an extensive focus has been made on the various types of environmental pollutants discharged from various sources, their toxicological effects in environments, humans, animals and plants as well as their biodegradation and bioremediation approaches for environmental cleanup.

The Water Research Institute at the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) is proud to have initiated and sponsored the International Workshop "Soil and Aquifer Pollution: Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids - Contamination and Recla- tion", held May 13th-15th, 1996, on the Technion campus in Haifa. Groundwater contamination is one of the pressing issues facing Israel and other countries which depend on groundwater for water supply. In Israel, 60% of the water supply comes from groundwater, most of it from two large aquifers. The Coastal Aquifer underlies the area where the largest concentration of human activity already takes place, and where much of future development is expected to occur. It is a phreatic sandstone aquifer, vulnerable to pollution from activities at the surface. The Mountain Aquifer is recharged in the higher terrain to the east, and flows, first in a phreatic zone, then confined, westward and underneath the Coastal Aquifer. This limestone aquifer has higher permeabilities and flow velo- ties, so pollution can reach the groundwater quite readily. Smaller local aquifers are also important components in the national water system. While measures are taken to protect these aquifers from pollution, there are locations where contamination has already occurred. Furthermore, accidental pollution may not be totally avoided in the future. Therefore, understanding the processes of groundwater contamination, recommending the proper measures for preventing it, and determining the best means for reclamation once pollution has occurred, are of great practical importance. Non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) are among the most significant contaminants.

Biodegradation is the break down of organic matter by microbes. Bioremediation is an engineered technique applied by people to clean up organic matter by helping microbes with the biodegradation process. One way of doing that is to introduce oxygen into the subsurface to help more aerobic microbes grow in order to clean up oil in the soil.The potential toxicity (harmful action) inherent in a substance is manifest only when that substance comes in contact with that susceptible living biological system. A chemical normally thought of as "e;harmless"e; will evoke a toxic response if added to a biological system in sufficient amount. The toxic potency of a chemicals is defined by the relationship between dose (the amount) of the chemical and the response that is produced in a biological system. The toxicity of industrial wastes is not often managed and it has caused serious damage to earth and water. The most important aspect of environmental biotechnology is the effective management of hazardous and toxic pollutants (xenobiotics) by bioremediation. The environmental clean-up process through bioremediation can be achieved in two ways-in situ and ex situ bioremediation. The book aims to provide relevant theoretical and practical frameworks and the latest empirical research findings in this area, along with case studies. It is written for students, academicians and industry professionals who want to improve their understanding of the strategic role of biodegradation and bioremediation at different levels of the biodegradation and bioremediation research and knowledge, that is, heavy metal pollution, toxicity, remediation methods and strategies to manage the waste in industries, which are a global concern.

This book presents advanced techniques for wastewater treatment and the chapters review the environmental impact of water pollution, the analysis of water quality, and technologies for the preservation of water resources. Also outlined in this volume is the bioremediation of heavy metals, dyes, bisphenols, phthalates, cyanobacteria in contaminated water and wastewater. Another focus of this book is the use of natural remediation techniques such as bacterial biofilms and enzymes.

Bioremediation, or enhanced microbiological treatment, of environments contaminated with a variety of organic and inorganic compounds is one of the most effective innovative technologies to come around this century! Practical Environmental Bioremediation: The Field Guide presents updated material, case histories and many instructive illustrations to reflect the evolving image of this fast-emerging industry. Bioremediation technology has witnessed great strides towards simplifying treatability formats, finding new approaches to field application, more potent nutrient formulations, monitoring protocols and the resulting general improvement in results. This new guide condenses all current available knowledge and presents necessary technical aspects and concepts in language that can be readily comprehended by the technical student, experienced scientist or engineer, the aspiring newcomer, or anyone else interested in this exciting natural cleanup technique.