Question

What is bioremediation? give some examples of bioremediation.

Answer 1

It is defined as the use of microorganisms or plants to clean up the environmental pollution. It is an approach used to treat wastes including wastewater, industrial waste and solid waste. The bioremediation process is applied to the removal of oil, petrochemical residues, pesticides, or heavy metals from soil or ground water.

In many cases, bioremediation is less expensive and more sustainable than other physical and chemical methods of remediation. The bioremediation process is a cheaper and eco-friendly approach and can deal with lower concentrations of contaminants more effectively. The strategies for bioremediation in soil and water can be as follows:

1. Use of indigenous microbial population as indicator species for bioremediation process.
2. Bioremediation with the addition of adapted or designed microbial inoculants.
3. Use of plants for bioremediation – green technology.