Bioremediation

Bioremediation is broadly referring to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, micro-algae, fungi, and plants), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, water, soil, flue gasses, industrial effluents etc., in natural or artificial settings. What has attracted the use of biological resources in treatment of contaminated environment is the natural ability of organisms to absorb, accumulate, and degrade common and emerging pollutants.

Bioremediation can offer considerable advantages for it aims to be sustainable, cheap, eco-friendly and scalable as opposed to the conventional physicochemical treatment methods. This research heavily focuses on supplying nutrients to promote growth, or by stimulating the process by inoculation of a polluted site with organisms. In the end, this can be used to reduce the impact of byproducts created from anthropogenic activities, examples being agricultural processes and industrialization. Bioremediation can prove to be cheaper and more sustainable than other remediation alternatives.