In this volume, experts from universities, government labs and industry share their findings on the microbiological, biochemical and molecular aspects of biodegradation and bioremediation. The text covers numerous topics, including: bioavailability, biodegradation of various pollutants, microbial community dynamics, properties and engineering of important biocatalysts, and methods for monitoring bioremediation processes. Microbial processes are environmentally compatible and can be integrated with non-biological processes to detoxify, degrade and immobilize environmental contaminants.

Microbial Biodegradation and Bioremediation brings together experts in relevant fields to describe the successful application of microbes and their derivatives for bioremediation of potentially toxic and relatively novel compounds. This single-source reference encompasses all categories of pollutants and their applications in a convenient, comprehensive package. Our natural biodiversity and environment is in danger due to the release of continuously emerging potential pollutants by anthropogenic activities. Though many attempts have been made to eradicate and remediate these noxious elements, every day thousands of xenobiotics of relatively new entities emerge, thus worsening the situation. Primitive microorganisms are highly adaptable to toxic environments, and can reduce the load of toxic elements by their successful transformation and remediation. Describes many novel approaches of microbial bioremediation including genetic engineering, metagenomics, microbial fuel cell technology, biosurfactants and biofilm-based bioremediation Introduces relatively new hazardous elements and their bioremediation practices including oil spills, military waste water, greenhouse gases, polythene wastes, and more Provides the most advanced techniques in the field of bioremediation, including insilico approach, microbes as pollution indicators, use of bioreactors, techniques of pollution monitoring, and more

Microbial or biological degradation has long been the subject of active concern, and the rapid expansion and growing sophistication of various industries in the last century has significantly increased the volume and complexity of toxic residues of wastes. These can be remediated by plants and microbes, either natural origin or adapted for a specific purpose, in a process known as bioremediation. The interest in microbial biodegradation of pollutants has intensified in recent years in an attempt to find sustainable ways to clean contaminated environments. These bioremediation and biotransformation methods take advantage of the tremendous microbial catabolic diversity to degrade, transform or accumulate a variety of compounds, such as hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, polaromatic hydrocarbons pharmaceutical substances, radionuclides and metals. Unlike conventional methods, bioremediation does not physically disturb the site. This book describes the basic principles of biodegradation and shows how these principles are related to bioremediation. Authored by leading, international environmental microbiologists, it discusses topics such as aerobic biodegradation, microbial degradation of pollutants, and microbial community dynamics. It provides valuable insights into how biodegration processes work and can be utilised for pollution abatement, and as such appeals to researchers and postgraduate students as well as experts in the field of bioremediation.

Addresses a Global Challenge to Sustainable DevelopmentAdvances in Biodegradation and Bioremediation of Industrial Waste examines and compiles the latest information on the industrial waste biodegradation process and provides a comprehensive review. Dedicated to reducing pollutants generated by agriculturally contaminated soil, and plastic waste fr

Despite many years of efforts to reduce the emission of toxic pollutants into the environment, the contamination of air, soils and water by heavy metals and organic xenobiotics is still a serious problem. This has urged many scientists around the world to undertake research that aims to find effective methods of removing pollutants from the environment. Special attention is paid to biological methods, which, thanks to their numerous advantages, meet the expectations of the whole society. As part of the Special Issue “Study of Biodegradation and Bioremediation”, in the MDPI journal Processes, several valuable articles have been published, which together form a picture of the current state of advanced research on the effective fight against environmental pollution. These include papers on the biodegradation of petroleum compounds or synthetic dyes by microorganisms or the enzymes they produce. In addition, the Special Issue includes papers on the bioremediation of dangerous heavy metals such as mercury and copper, and the results make a valuable contribution to our current state of knowledge on this topic. A separate and valuable part of this collection of publications are review articles devoted to the remediation of antineoplastic drugs, as well as the hopes and challenges connected with the application of nanotechnology in bioremediation. We are pleased that so many researchers from different parts of the world have submitted their articles on this topic. We are very grateful to them. We hope that readers of this collection will find many interesting ideas and relevant information that will lead to new solutions in the bioremediation and biodegradation of emerging environmental contaminants. Prof. Ewa Kaczorek Dr. Wojciech Smułek.

Biodegradation is the break down of organic matter by microbes. Bioremediation is an engineered technique applied by people to clean up organic matter by helping microbes with the biodegradation process. One way of doing that is to introduce oxygen into the subsurface to help more aerobic microbes grow in order to clean up oil in the soil.The potential toxicity (harmful action) inherent in a substance is manifest only when that substance comes in contact with that susceptible living biological system. A chemical normally thought of as "e;harmless"e; will evoke a toxic response if added to a biological system in sufficient amount. The toxic potency of a chemicals is defined by the relationship between dose (the amount) of the chemical and the response that is produced in a biological system. The toxicity of industrial wastes is not often managed and it has caused serious damage to earth and water. The most important aspect of environmental biotechnology is the effective management of hazardous and toxic pollutants (xenobiotics) by bioremediation. The environmental clean-up process through bioremediation can be achieved in two ways-in situ and ex situ bioremediation. The book aims to provide relevant theoretical and practical frameworks and the latest empirical research findings in this area, along with case studies. It is written for students, academicians and industry professionals who want to improve their understanding of the strategic role of biodegradation and bioremediation at different levels of the biodegradation and bioremediation research and knowledge, that is, heavy metal pollution, toxicity, remediation methods and strategies to manage the waste in industries, which are a global concern.

Alexander presents the basic principles of biodegradation and how these principles relate to bioremediation. All the subject's microbiological, chemical, toxicological, environmental, engineering and technological aspects are covered.