Role of Microbes in Bioremediation of Pollutants

In the recent times, microorganisms have found a utility in almost every industry ranging from agriculture to effluent treatment from distilleries, dye and paper industry, fermentation and brewing, pharmaceuticals and surfactant industry. This book focuses on their applicability in treatment of pollutants that have accumulated in the environment as a result of tremendous urbanization and industrialization. Microbial enzymes have the inherent ability to break down complex molecules into simpler ones along with the release of energy and by products. They can do so aerobically or anaerobically depending on their genetic make-up and the source where they occur.

The process of using microbes and their derivatives for treatment of contaminated sites/ removal of contaminants from the ecosystem is termed as bioremediation as instead of using chemical or physical means, living organisms are used in this process. Biological processes are fundamentally more environmentally sustainable and in most cases, cost effective. Biotechnology isn’t as recent as it appears to be; technologies like composting and fermentation have been used since ancient time by humans.

In the book, the articles span across various successes and challenges of microbial bioremediation for cleaning the environment including the removal of polyaromatic hydrocarbons, treatment of oil spills, genetic engineering of microorganisms to suit a specific type of degradation pathway, and wastewater treatment.