BIOTECHNOLOGICAL METHODS

FOR MANAGEMENT OF POLLUTION

Name- Avishek Bhattacharjee

Dept-M.Sc Biotechnology,2nd year
Environmental Biotechnology
Institute of Genetic Engineering
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 Environmental pollution-
Sources and Nature
We live in two worlds- a natural world of the native environment and a built
world created by himself. The built world an outcome of the advances made in
science and technology, is associated with environmental pollution.
Environmental Pollution is a global phenomenon, and therefore a matter of
concern for everyone.
Pollution
Pollution broadly refers to the presence of undesirable substances in
the environment which are harmful to man and other organisms
 Sources of Pollution
Environmental pollution is mostly due to direct or indirect human
activities, arising out of the built world created by him. There are
six major sources of environmental pollution

➢Industrial pollution
➢Agricultural pollution
➢Biogenic pollution
➢Anthropogenic pollution
➢Unnatural sources
➢Extra terrestrial sources
 Types of Pollution
1.Air/ Atmosphere Pollution
2.Water Pollution
3.Land/ Soil pollution
4.Noise Pollution
5.Thermal Pollution
6.Radioactive Pollution
 Nature of the Pollutants
The pollutants that occur in the environment may be be chemical, biological and physical
In their nature.

❖Chemical pollutants: Gaseous pollutants(sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide), toxic metals,

Pesticides, herbicides, hycarbons, toxins, acidic substances, carcinogens.

❖Biological pollutants: Pathogenic organisms, products of biological origin

❖Physical pollutants: Heat, sound, odours, radiation and radioactive substances

 BIOTECHNOLOGICAL METHODS
FOR MANAGEMENT OF POLLUTION

The applications of biological principals, organisms and products to practical purposes

 MANAGEMENT OF POLLUTION

The responsible use of biotechnology to get economic, social and

environmental benefits is inherently attractive and determines a spectacular
evolution of research from traditional fermentation technologies, to modern
techniques to provide efficient synthesis of low Toxicity products, renewable
bioenergy and yeilding new methods for environmental Monitoring. The start
of the 21st century has found biotechnology emerging as a key technology for
enabling technology for sustainable environmental protection and
stewardship
 METHODS FOR MANAGEMENT OF POLLUTION

There are many methods for management of pollution they are as follow:
1.Atmospheric CO2 reduction
2.Sewage treatment by bacteria and algae
3.Eutrophication and phosphorus pollution
4.Management of Metal pollution
5.Immobilized cells in the management of pollution
6.Bioremediation
 ATMOSPHERIC CO2 REDUCTION

The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in Earth‘s atmosphere determines its

contribution to the greenhouse effect and the rates of plant and algal photosynthesis.
The concentration has increased markedly in the 21st century, at a rate of 2.0 ppm/yr
during 2000–2009 and faster since then. It was 280 ppm in pre-industrial times, and has
risen to 400 ppm (parts per million) as of May 2013, with the increase largely attributed
to anthropogenic sources. Thus CO2 is closely linked with global worming.
For this reason the reduction in atmospheric CO2 concentration assumes
significance. There are mainly two approaches for biotechnological reduction of C02 in
atmosphere.
1.Photosynthesis
2.Biological calcification
 PHOTOSYNTHESIS TO REDUCE
ATMOSPHERIC CO2 REDUCTION
Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy,
normally from the sun, into chemical energy that can be used to fuel the organisms'
activities. Carbohydrates, such as sugars, are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water
(hence the name photosynthesis). Oxygen is also released, mostly as a waste product.
Most plants, most algae, and cyanobacteria perform the process of photosynthesis, and are
called photoautotrophs. Photosynthesis maintains atmospheric oxygen levels and supplies all
of the organic compounds and most of the energy necessary for all life on Earth.
 BIOLOGICAL CALCIFICATION TO REDUCE
ATMOSPHERIC CO2

Certain organisms present in the deep sea( corals, green and red algae) are
Capable of storing CO2 through a process of biological calcification.The overall
Process of calcification may be represented as follows
H2O + CO2 ----- H2CO3
H2CO3 + Ca2+ ----------- CaCO3 + CO2 +H20

As CaCO3 gets precipitated, more and more

Atmospheric CO2 can be utilized for its
formation
The waste water resulting from various human activities domestic, agricultural and
industrial is technically referred to as sewage. Sewage treatment is the process
of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage,
both runoff (effluents), domestic, commercial and institutional. It includes physical,
chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological
contaminants. Its objective is to produce an environmentally safe fluid waste
stream (or treated effluent) and a solid waste (or treated sludge) suitable for
disposal or reuse (usually as farm fertilizer)
 Environmental Remediation by Bioremediation

Bioremediation is the use of any organism metabolism to remove pollutants.

Technologies can be generally classified as in situ or ex situ. In situ bioremediation
involves treating the contaminated material at the site, while ex situ involves the
removal of the contaminated material to be treated elsewhere. Some examples of
bioremediation related technologies are phytoremediation ,bioventing ,bioleaching
, landfarming, bioreactorcomposting, bioaugmentation, rhizofiltration,and biostimulat
ion.
ADVANTAGES OF BIOREMEDIATION

No additional disposal costs

Low maintenance
Does not create an eyesore
Capable of impacting
source zones and thus,
decreasing site clean-up
time
Keeps site disruption to a
minimum (very important
in beaches)
 Phytoremediation
➢Phytoremediation describes the treatment of environmental problems
through the use of plants that mitigate the environmental problem
without the need to excavate the contaminant material and dispose of it
elsewhere.
 A range of processes mediated by plants or algae are useful in treating
environmental problems:
Phytoextraction — uptake and concentration of substances from the
environment into the plant biomass.
Phytostabilization — reducing the mobility of substances in the
environment, for example, by limiting the leaching of substances from
the soil.
Phytotransformation — chemical modification of environmental substances
as a direct result of plant metabolism, often resulting in their inactivation,
degradation (phytodegradation), or immobilization (phytostabilization).
Phytostimulation — enhancement of soil microbial activity for the
degradation of contaminants, typically by organisms that associate with roots.
This process is also known asrhizosphere degradation.
Rhizofiltration — filtering water through a mass of roots to remove toxic
substances or excess nutrients. The pollutants remain absorbed in or adsorbed
to the roots.
Eutrophication or more precisely hypertrophication, is the ecosystem response to
the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates,
through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system.One example is the "bloom" or
great increase of phytoplankton in a water body as a response to increased levels of
nutrients.
 Eutrophication can be human-caused or natural. Untreated sewage effluent
and agricultural run-off carrying fertilizers are examples of human-caused
eutrophication. However, it also occurs naturally in situations where nutrients
accumulate (e.g. depositional environments). Eutrophication generally promotes
excessive plant growth and decay, favouring simple algae and plankton over other more
complicated plants, and causes a severe reduction in water quality. Phosphorus is a
necessary nutrient for plants to live, and is the limiting factor for plant growth in many
freshwater ecosystems. The addition of phosphorus increases algal growth, but not all
phosphates actually feed algae.
Enhanced growth of aquatic vegetation or phytoplankton and algal blooms disrupts
normal functioning of the ecosystem, causing a variety of problems such as a lack
of oxygen needed for fish and shellfish to survive. The water becomes cloudy, typically
coloured a shade of green, yellow, brown, or red. Eutrophication also decreases the
value of rivers, lakes, and estuaries for recreation, fishing, hunting, and aesthetic
enjoyment. Health problems can occur where eutrophic conditions interfere with
drinking water treatment.

Control of Eutrophication: There are broadly two ways of controlling algal

Growth resulting in eutrophication

❖In chemical approach algicides such as copper sulfate,sodium arsenate etc

Are used

❖In Biological approach, cyanophages ( i.e the viruses that can kill algal cells)
Can be used to contain eutrophication
Removal of phosphorus can be done with salts of calcium ,magnesium and
Aluminium .This however is not applicable in large scale. Therefore
Biological removal of phosphorus by bacteria is carried out through aerobic
and anaerobic processes as depicted below
 Management of Metal Pollution
Environmental pollution with heavy metals like cadmium ,mercury, lead
couses several toxic manifestations in living organisms, including cancer.
Bioaccumulation, biomagnification and biomethylation are some of the
characteristic features of metal pollution
Certain aquatic plants namely phytoplanktons or benthics and microorganisms
can take up metals from the bathing media and acts as natural bioscavengers

For eg:
Water Hyacinth- This plant can absorb
and accumulate cadmium, mercury,lead
and even silver to a significant level
Water Lettuce- A floating aquatic weed
which take up large quantities of lead,
cadmium, mercury etc
Ferns- The fern Azola filicoides
accumulates cadmium,
copper,uranium.salvinia
sp can absorb several metals including
lead, nickel and chromium
Alage- Several metals from fresh water
can be absorbed by algal blooms
For eg: chlorella vulgaris can take up
copper,mercury and uranium

Fungi- Certain fungal species are good

absorbers of heavy metals eg:
Rhizopus, aspergillus, penicillium

Bacteria- A few bacterial species can

accumulate metals on their cell walls
.For instance, E.coli can take up mercury
while Bacillus circulans can accu-
Mulate copper
The use of immobilized cells, particularly microbial whole cells,for the
abetement of environmental pollution is a recent development. The immobilized
Cells are useful for the waste water treatment, and for the recovery of metals from
Industrial effluents.
 In recent years, the demand for the use of sustainable and eco-friendly
environmental processes is rapidly growing, subjected to economic,
public, and legislation pressure. Biotechnology provides a plethora of
opportunities for effectively addressing issues pertaining to the
monitoring, assessment, and treatment of contaminated water, air, and
solid waste streams. In this context, source tracking of environmental
pollutants and its treatment using biological-based methods is becoming
increasingly important, mainly, owing to the accuracy and robustness of
such techniques. The different biotechniques available nowadays, thus,
represent both well-established as well as novel (bio)technologies,
although several aspects of their performance are still to be tested. If
these mechanisms are understood and the barriers are overcome, novel
biotechniques will potentially change the way users rebuild technologies
for the sustainable use of different biological processes for wastewater,
air, and solid waste treatment.
 REFERENCE

✓Biotechnology by U.Satyanarayan
✓ Gerben J Zylstraa and Jerome J Kukor, What is environmental
biotechnology? Current Opinion in Biotechnology 16(3):243-245,
2005
✓ Vidya Sagar. K, National Conference on Environmental
Biotechnology, Bangalore 2005

✓ Environmental Biotechnology achievments, opportunities

And challenges by Maria Gavrilescu