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Environmental Management systems: Bioprocesses
 
What is EMS (ISO 14001):
A system that enables any organization to:* Manage environmental Impacts arising out of its Activities, Products & Services;*Ensures Compliance to Regulations; * Brings continual Improvement; * DemonstrateHigh Environmental Performance to others by conforming to Policy, Objectives andTargets.
Examples of Bioprocesses in EMS
: 1.Biological Wastewater Treatment systems; Solidand Sludge Disposal by Composting, and Landfills Technology; 2.Biodegradation of xeno-biotic compounds; 3.Bioremediation; 4.Bio-fuel Technology to providesupplements to fossil fuels; 5.Bio-fertilizers, Bio-pesticides and Plant Biotechnology forAgriculture; 6.Bio-leaching of ores.
Environmental Biotechnology
 
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Efficient sewage treatment, deodorization of human excreta
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Degradation of petroleum and management of oil spills
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Detoxification of wastes and industrial effluents
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Bio-control of plant disease and insect pests by using viruses,bacteria, amoebae, fungi etc.
1.Natural Sciences Perspective
:Before we study contribution of biotechnology to environmental management system assuch, let us take a wider view of the present global environmental situation, how itdeveloped and a scientific approach to solving problems facing us today.
Natural Order: [Food Webs and Energy]
Our natural order of life on earth consists of interactions that each organism (withour species as most significant player) has with other organisms and with its non-bioticenvironment.Within the biosphere, organisms are arranged into food webs. In such food webs,plants are the primary producers, consumed by animals and other organisms that may bedevoured by predators. Nutritional relationships form the energy basis for the naturalstruggle for life.
 
If we consider the biosphere in terms of the turnover of elements rather than interms of energy flow, then cyclical patterns are observed.Life on earth depends on (1) chemical recycling; it is also dependent on (2) one-way energy flow through the biosphere.
Summary of some critical problems that can occur in an ecological system:
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Disruption of essential chemical cycles on a global or local scale:a. Breaking the Cycle; e.g., desertification, global warming and change of climateb. Changing the rate of cycling by chemical overloads or leaks in the cycle. e.g.,upsetting oxygen and carbon cycle by deforestation, dumping industrial wastes inlakes and rivers2.
 
Disruption of energy flow on a local or global scale:a. Decreasing or increasing solar energy input by changing the properties of thelocal or global atmosphere. E.g., green house gases and ozone depleting chemicalrelease into atmosphere.b. Heat or entropy build up in the environment due to use of too much energy,large scale combustion of fossil fuels for electricity generation.- we cannot ignorethe second law of thermodynamics.Rapid evolution of human society took place in recent ten thousand years. Severaldevelopments have made an immense consequence on the natural environment due tohuman activities. In the last two hundred years, it has been observed that the use of energy resources on a large scale affects the general flow of matter in the biospherecontributing to disturbances in natural cycles, beyond earth’s bearing capability.In early stage of hunting, primitive agriculture and with skillful use of tools,manual and animal nutrition derived power was the limiting energy source. Organicmolecules generated through photosynthesis in plants with solar energy as the source of energy, provided food for herbivorous animal species (including humans) and animaid development. Resource depletion and pollution became a real possibility.The efficiency of energy conversions in nature far exceeds that of Man designedproduction processes. A living organism not only produces materials it needs to functionand in doing this uses energy in a highly efficient way. In times of a positive energybalance energy is stored in compounds such as starch, glycogen and lipids. Each livingorganism degrades bio-molecules that have fulfilled their biological function to smallerunits and subsequently uses these for the production of new bio-molecules or as a cellularfuel. Microorganisms- built-in integrated recycling can after the death of the organism,use the bio-molecules present in an organism. The non-bio-gradable nature of manufactured products such as synthetic plastics, may cause problems by accumulationin the environment.
Integral Life Cycle management:
Mankind is withdrawing fossil energy and raw materials from the earth’s reserves to formaking products for fulfilling social needs. During the process of manufacture, wastesand degraded energy may be released to environment and after usage the product maybecome a disposable material in the environment. Recycle of material can involve somemore energy input.
 
When we make a choice of a product, a consideration of the total impact on environmentof producing it, using it and finally handling it as waste should be made. If its utility isless than the adverse impact then we should forgo the use of it.In addition to considering economic feasibility of a process in a situation, energy andenvironmental factors are also satisfactory; society can support the product both fromproducer and consumer point of view.
Biotechnology: New Revolution:
Biotechnology is the application of organisms, biological systems or biological processesto manufacturing and service industries. It is based on understanding of biosciences andprocess engineering and involves handling of bio-molecules that occur in nature.Here we consider applications of biotechnology in agriculture, chemical synthesisand energy management. Two strategies for the use of biotechnology are studied (i) Toreduce the environmental problems arising from conventional technology. (ii) To replaceexisting environmentally damaging technology.Recalcitrant organic molecules and inorganic pollutants: Compounds that persist in theenvironment are called recalcitrant. Abiotic organic chemicals in water, soil etc.are noteasy to treat as these are not metabolized easily. However in some cases selectivedevelopment of mutants have given biotechnology solution to these problems. Inorganicheavy metal pollution too has been tackled by bioprocess developments. REFER:’Microbial biosorbents: Meeting the challenge of heavy metal pollution in aqueoussolutions’ Current Science, v 78, No 8, April 2000,(Review Paper,967-973)Man made compounds that are found in unusually high concentrations in the environmentare called xenobiotic. These do not get degraded easily by microbes and accumulate inthe environment. Considerable research is being done on his topic by environmentalbiotechnologists.
2. Waste, Pollution--need for Treatment
Interaction: Man & EnvironmentNature of Wastes & PollutantsEnvironmental impacts of releaseTreatment: ‘End of pipe’ vs process integrated technologyLandfill technology for solid wasteWaste generation is the byproduct of consumption and production activities andtends to rise with the level of economic advance. Wastes arise from domestic andindustrial activity, e.g., sewage, wastewater, agriculture and food waste from foodprocessing, wood wastes and ever increasing range of toxic industrial chemical productsand byproducts. Costs for properly dealing with waste are escalating and much attentionis presently devoted to efficient and effective waste management, which will includecosts of collection, storage, processing and removal of wastes.
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