Bioremediation of industrial effluents: A synergistic approach

Abstract

Industrial wastewater consists of inorganic and organic toxic pollutants that pose a threat to environmental sustainability. The organic pollutants are a menace to the environment and life forms than the inorganic substances and pose teratogenic, mutagenic, carcinogenic, and other serious detrimental effects on the living entities, moreover, they have a gene-altering effect on aquatic life forms and affect the soil fertility and quality. Removal of varying effluents having recalcitrant contaminants with conventional treatment technologies is strenuous. In contrast to physical and chemical methods, biological treatment methods are environmentally friendly, versatile, efficient, and technically feasible with low operational costs and energy footprints. Biological treatment is a secondary wastewater treatment system that utilizes the metabolic activities of microorganisms to oxidize or reduce inorganic and organic compounds and transform them into dense biomass, which later can be removed by the sedimentation process. Biological treatment in bioreactors is an ex situ method of bioremediation and provides the benefits of continuous monitoring under controlled parameters. This paper attempts to provide a review of bioremediation technologies discussing most concerning widespread bioreactors and advances used for different industrial effluents with their comparative merits and limitations.

Microbiological analysis and bioremediation bioassay for characterization of industrial effluent

“…The mineralization rate and extent depend on the microorganisms' metabolic capacity 4 . A secondary wastewater treatment method known as biological treatment makes use of the metabolic processes of microorganisms to oxidize or decrease inorganic and organic components and convert them into dense biomass that can then be removed via the sedimentation process 5 . Besides being cost-effective, it results in the degradation or complete mineralization of pollutants.…”