A comprehensive overview of elements in bioremediation

Abstract

Sustainable development requires the development and promotion of environmental management and a constant search for green technologies to treat a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial habitats contaminated by increasing anthropogenic activities. Bioremediation is an increasingly popular alternative to conventional methods for treating waste compounds and media with the possibility to degrade contaminants using natural microbial activity mediated by different consortia of microbial strains. Many studies about bioremediation have been reported and the scientific literature has revealed the progressive emergence of various bioremediation techniques. In this review, we discuss the various in situ and ex situ bioremediation techniques and elaborate on the anaerobic digestion technology, phytoremediation, hyperaccumulation, composting and biosorption for their effectiveness in the biotreatment, stabilization and eventually overall remediation of contaminated strata and environments. The review ends with a note on the recent advances genetic engineering and nanotechnology have had in improving bioremediation. Case studies have also been extensively revisited to support the discussions on biosorption of heavy metals, gene probes used in molecular diagnostics, bioremediation studies of contaminants in vadose soils, bioremediation of oil contaminated soils, bioremediation of contaminants from mining sites, air sparging, slurry phase bioremediation, phytoremediation studies for pollutants and heavy metal hyperaccumulators, and vermicomposting.

The ways to increase efficiency of soil bioremediation

“…For example, one can add surfactants which adsorb pollutants on the surface and then release them by making them accessible to microorganisms [16]. Surfactants may be used to remove organic compounds (eg PAHs) and heavy metals from the soil.…”

“…It usually consists in delivery of nutrients, macro and microelements and oxygen, thereby increasing the activity of microorganisms of different strains [16,13]. Kalantary et al [13] investigated the effect of delivery of macronutrients and micronutrients (N, P, K, Mg, S, Fe, Cl, Zn, Mn, Cu, Na, B, Mo, Co and Ni) to the contaminated soil [18].…”

“…According to Juwarkar et al [16], it is important to analyze the role of peroxidase in the treatment of the soil contaminated with aromatic compounds. Peroxidases catalyze the degradation and transformation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chlorinated hydrocarbons, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, phenolic compounds and dyes.…”

“…Peroxidases catalyze the degradation and transformation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chlorinated hydrocarbons, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, phenolic compounds and dyes. These enzymes are capable of degrading various types of resistant aromatic compounds [16,44]. Moreover, except peroxidase, monooxygenases are also involved in the degradation of hydrocarbons, such as substituted methanes, alkanes, cycloalkanes, alkenes, haloalkenes, ethers, as well as aromatic and heterocyclic hydrocarbons [45].…”

Shifts in indigenous microbial communities during the anaerobic degradation of pentachlorophenol in upland and paddy soils from southern China

“…When PCP enters the soil, it undergoes a slow natural dissipation , and the biodegradation of PCP has been proposed to be the most important PCP removal process in soils (Kim et al 2004;Yoshida et al 2007;Field and SierraAlvarez 2008;Juwarkar et al 2010;Bosso and Cristinzio Responsible editor: Robert Duran Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11356-016-7562-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. 2014).…”