Bioremediation of contaminants

Abstract

The idea of bioremediation is with the nature itself. Owing to contamination in a particular region, some organisms may die; growth of few others might on the contaminants by metabolizing it. Bioremediation would thrive well on the contaminants by metabolizing it. Bioremediation would involve identification of such organisms and fostering their growth, naturally or by inoculation, so as to breakdown the contaminants into less harmful metabolites. This technology being cheaper and nature friendly is certainly a technology for the future. But, like other technologies, this too is not a panacea to all the maladies of environmental contaminants; toxic metals like cadmium obliterate complete flora and fauna of the contaminated area, and hence, it is not possible to use biological agents to treat them. Microbes require oxygen as an electron acceptor hence in aqueous phase; oxygen concentration below 1 mg/1 restricts the process of bioremediation.