POLLUTANTS AND WATER MANAGEMENT Pollutants and Water Management: Resources, Strategies and Scarcity delivers a balanced and comprehensive look at recent trends in the management of polluted water resources. Covering the latest ­practical and theoretical aspects of polluted water management, the distinguished academics and authors emphasize indigenous practices of water resource management, the scarcity of clean water, and the future of the water system in the context of an increasing urbanization and globalization. The book details the management of contaminated water sites, including heavy metal contaminations in surface and subsurface water sources. It details a variety of industrial activities that typically pollute water, such as those involving crude oils and dyes. In its discussion of recent trends in abatement strategies, Pollutants and Water Management includes an exploration of the application of microorganisms, like bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, and cyanobacteria, for the management of environmental contaminants. Readers will also discover a wide variety of other topics on the conservation of water sources including: The role of government and the public in the management of water resource pollution The causes of river system pollution and potential future scenarios in the abatement of river pollution Microbial degradation of organic pollutants in various water bodies The advancement in membrane technology used in water treatment processes Lead contamination in groundwater and recent trends in abatement strategies for it Highly polluting industries and their effects on surrounding water resources Perfect for graduate and postgraduate students and researchers whose focus is on recent trends in abatement strategies for pollutants and the application of microorganisms for the management of environmental contaminants, Pollutants and Water Management: Resources, Strategies and Scarcity also has a place in the libraries of environmentalists whose work involves the management and conservation of polluted sites.

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.

Bioremediation - the use of microorganisms for environmental clean-up - is a technology that is experiencing a rapid phase of development. The authors of this text an understanding of the current progress and limitations of technologies that are designed to help nature herself.

Our interest in the microbial biodegradation of xenobiotics has increased many folds in recent years to find out sustainable ways for environmental cleanup. Bioremediation and biotransformation processes harness the naturally occurring ability of microbes to degrade, transform or accumulate a wide range of organic pollutants. Major methodological breakthroughs in recent years through detailed genomic, metagenomic, proteomic, bioinformatic and other high-throughput analyses of environmentally relevant microorganisms have provided us unprecedented insights into key biodegradative pathways and the ability of organisms to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The degradation of a wide spectrum of organic pollutants and wastes discharged into the environment by anthropogenic activities is an emerging need today to promote sustainable development of our society with low environmental impact. Microbial processes play a major role in the removal of recalcitrant compounds taking advantage of the astonishing catabolic versatility of microorganisms to degrade or transform such compounds. New breakthroughs in sequencing, genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and imaging are generating vital information which opens a new era providing new insights of metabolic and regulatory networks, as well as clues to the evolution of degradation pathways and to the molecular adaptation strategies to changing environmental conditions. Functional genomic and metagenomic approaches are increasing our understanding of the relative importance of different pathways and regulatory networks to carbon flux in particular environments and for particular compounds. New approaches will certainly accelerate the development of bioremediation technologies and biotransformation processes in coming years for natural attenuation of contaminated environments

Microorganisms offer a more effective and economical means of reducing or eliminating environmental contamination than more traditional treatment methods. This study examines the role of microbes in the degradation of toxic organic chemicals.

Bioremediation which is the use of living organisms such as plants (Phytoremediation) and microbes such as bacteria, algae and fungi (Microbial bioremediation) or their systems to treat the contaminants, is an efficient, eco-friendly and economical novel alternative to conventional treatment technologies. This book would serve to inculcate in the readers, the present status, feasibility, and the significance of microbial bioremediation. The various aspects of bioremediation like biodegradation of contaminants and pollutants, and bioconversion, including the genetics of microbial degradation have been comprehensively discussed, with precise diagrammatic representations which will make the reader appreciate the concepts without impediments.