This book covers broader aspect of bioremediation and biodegradation of environmental
pollutants. The pollution due to industrialization is a global challenge for the sustainable
development of human beings. Environmental pollutants may be organic or inorganic,
like heavy metals, pesticides, toxic chemical fertilizers, polyaromatic hydrocarbons,
polychlorinated biphenyls, detergents, antibiotics, lubricants, nanoparticles, paints,
and disinfectants and many of them may cause various diseases in human beings and
animals. After the green revolution, the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers
and pesticides for enhancing agricultural productivity has destroyed the soil fertility
and health as well as microbial flora and fauna. The industrial waste and sewage contain
hazardous organic and inorganic chemicals comprising heavy metals, salts and extreme
pH. Long term cumulative effects of heavy metals in the environment are detrimental
to human health. The degradation and bioremediation of industrial wastes are a challenging
task because there is no reliable technology till date which is sustainable in terms
of complete removal of these pollutants. Ultimately, diverse groups of microorganism
that are already present in the nature may provide solution for the degradation and
bioremediation of toxic industrial wastes. Microorganisms are being used for the bioremediation
and transformation of pollutants from long times (Okpokwasili, 2007). Bioremediation
involves the application of microbes to detoxify and degrade environmental pollutants.
Microbes have various mechanisms for removing heavy metals from contaminated environments,
such as adsorption to cell surfaces, complexation of exopolysaccharides, intracellular
accumulation, biosynthesis of metallothionins and other proteins that trap metals
and transform them to volatile compounds (Sharma et al., 2013). Recently, research
is being focused in the development of genetically modified microbes or consortia
for the detoxification of environmental pollutants.
The book consists of 14 chapters covering the available advanced knowledge in biodegradation
and bioremediation of various environmental pollutants, which are a real challenge
to environmental researchers in the current scenario. The 1st, 12th, and 14th chapters
highlight recent advances in phytoremediation and the role of the bacterial ecology
of the rhizosphere of wetland plants for bioremediation of complex industrial wastewater.
Some plant species have the inherent capacity to uptake and accumulate the heavy metals
whereas other species help in biodegradation and biotransformation of toxic pollutants
to nontoxic form of pollutants for environmental management. The phytoremediation
of heavy metals is broadly discussed in terms of plant mechanisms for removing theses
pollutants from soils and wastewaters. The 2nd, 3rd, 7th, and 10th chapters highlight
the microbial degradation and bioremediation of heavy metals, aromatic compounds,
hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) pesticides and textile dyes from industrial waste and
other environmental contaminants. This book has explored the latest information related
to research and development of bioremediation of various xenobiotics compounds. The
5th chapter highlights the significance and role of biosurfactants and bioemulsifiers
for bioremediation and biodegradation of various pollutants discharged from industrial
waste, showing to be a sustainable biotechnological tool for minimizing the toxicity
of industrial waste. The 6th, 8th, 11th, and 13th chapters specially discuss the aerobic
and anaerobic biodegradation of lignocellulosic, agriculture and lipid wastes. The
application of potential microbial enzymatic processes for bioremediation and biodegradation
of environmental pollutants is discussed in the 4th chapter. This chapter addresses
laccases and their significance in the bioremediation of industrial effluents. Laccase
enzyme is a type of multicopper blue oxidase which oxidize a broad range of organic
substrates such as phenols, polyphenols, anilines, and even certain inorganic compounds.
It is extensively disseminated in higher plants, fungi, insects, and bacteria. The
9th chapter covers few laboratory scale bioremediation experiment on petroleum hydrocarbons
of contaminated wastewater of refinery plants. In general, the process of phytoremediation
and microbial biodegradation is a comparatively cheaper and relevant approach on a
large scale than physical and chemical remediation. The editor tried to make a holistic
approach to all bioremediation and biodegradation techniques applicable for minimization
of environmental pollution (soil, oily sludge, and groundwater) caused by petroleum
hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, and other chemicals. However, management of some
of the pollutants generated by tanneries, distilleries, and paper and pulp industries
are a challenging task mainly due to the lack of appropriate acquaintance regarding
the persistent organic pollutants discharged from these industries and the process
of their detoxification. Similarly, the safe dumping and biodegradation of hospital
waste is also an authentic challenge worldwide for human and animal health.
In last, this book compiles and updates the recent literature related to microbial
degradation and phytoremediation of industrial, agricultural waste and their biochemical
and molecular processes for reducing the environmental pollution. In addition, the
book also provides current available tools, techniques and literatures regarding bioremediation
and biodegradation of industrial waste. It also describes the significance of various
bioreactors for the treatment of complex industrial waste and provides specific chapters
on bioreactors and membrane process integrated with microbial degradation processes.
Thus, this book is useful to the environmental engineering students for designing
sustainable technology for biodegradation and bioremediation of industrial wastes.
All chapters give information regarding role of microbes and plants, and their consortium
for the degradation of recalcitrant chemicals. It also covers the advances in basic
knowledge as well recent technologies in environmental biotechnology. Hence, this
book will be highly beneficial for a broad range of readers, including students, researchers,
scientists, teachers, and consulting professionals in industrial biotechnology, environmental
microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, life sciences and agricultural sciences.
Author contributions
JV has been writing and editing this manuscript as book review of recent published
books.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial
or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.