2. Recent News
●
Oregon Group Uses Mushrooms for Bioremediation
Washington, DC--(ENEWSPF)--January 23, 2014. Putting ideas into
action, an Oregon-based restoration nonprofit group, Ocean Blue
Project, is harnessing the power of mushrooms to clean up
pesticides and other pollutants that plague Oregon and national
waterways. Yes, mushrooms.
3. What is Bioremediation?
Use of bacteria, fungi, and plants to remove or degrade hazardous
pollutants into harmless byproducts like carbon dioxide and water
Overall Goal: Overcome the factors that are limiting the natural
degradation of the contaminants.
5. Types of Bioremediation
In Situ
The treatment of the contamination
on site
Biostimulation
Simply by adding nutrients and oxygen
to enhance the capabilities of any
microorganisms already present at the
contamination site.
Bioaugmentation
Cleanup crews apply specifically
engineered microorganisms that are
specially designed to break down the
contaminants.
Ex Situ
The physical extraction of the
contaminated media to another
location for treatment.
6. Microbes Role
Aerobic
In aerobic conditions, microbes
need oxygen in order to perform
their duties. With enough oxygen,
they will be to transform the
contaminants in the soil into water
and carbon.
(Aerobic bioremediation usually is preferred because it degrades
pollutants 10 to 100 times faster than anaerobic bioremediation.)
Anaerobic
In anaerobic conditions, microbes
work without oxygen. The
chemical compounds that are in
the soil are decomposed by the
bacteria, which creates energy
that the
8. Microorganisms at Work
Pseudomonas putida-“Superbug”
Gram-negative bacterium
Aerobic
Very versatile metabolism
Degrade an array of toxic
chemicals, including gasoline
components
Degrade toluene, a component of
paint thinner
Degrade Styrofoam™
The electron micrograph
9. Microorganisms at Work
Deinococcus radiodurans-”The
world’s toughest bacterium”
Gram-positive bacteria that
usually forms in spherical pairs or
tetrads
Aerobic
Genetically Engineered
Microorganism
Modified to consume and digest
toluene ionic mercury from highly
radioactive nuclear waste
An electron micrograph of Deinococcus radiodurans, an extremely
radiation resistant bacterium which produces potent antioxidant
manganese complexes.
10. Microorganisms at Work
Alcanivorax borkumensis
Gram-negative, rod-shaped
hydrocarbonoclastic (“oildegrading”) bacterium
Thrives in halophilic, aerobic
environments
Found in the upper layers of
freshwater or marine
environments: Mediterranean Sea,
Pacific Ocean and Arctic Sea
Involved in the bioremediation of
oil-contaminated aquatic
environments.
13. More Than Just Microbes
Factors of Bioremediation
Type(s) of contamination
Extent of contamination
Toxicity of contaminants
Location and characteristics of the site
economic situation
microbes source of carbon and energy
electron acceptor availability.
temperature and other weather conditions
nutrients available to the microbes - this includes types of nutrients and amount of
nutrients
pH of contaminated site - must be between 5 and 10 work in general. Optimal
conditions are pH 6-8.
moisture content (for soil contamination)
14. Soil Sample Collection
Lab Testing of the Soil
The soil sample is taken to a lab where it is tested
Soil samples are collected from different depths
15. Bioremediation Can’t Win Them All
High Metal Concentrations - Metals that cannot be broken down
include arsenic, cadmium, mercury, copper, chromium and zinc.
Mercury is the most toxic of heavy metals.
Highly Chlorinated Organic Molecules - These are organic
molecules that have multiple chlorine atoms attached to them.
Inorganic salts - This includes substances such as sodium
thiosulfate, sulfur dioxide, sodium metabisulfite, trimethylamine
hydrochoride, and ferric chloride.
Notas del editor
However, this process is not very effective because it is hard to control the growth of microbes to get rid of the particular contaminant(Bioaugmentaton)This method is usually attempted to some degree at every site because it is the simplest approach.(biostimulation)
Anaerobic:With enough oxygen, they will be to transform the contaminants in the soil into water and carbon.Aeorbic:
In unpolluted water, A. borkumensis is found in low numbers. This is due to the limited availability of nutrients, namely phosphorus and nitrogen. However, in oil-contaminated water, the addition of phosphorus and nitrogen allows A. borkumensis populations to thrive
