Healthy environment is important for any kind of biota on earth. It provides the basic elements of life such as clean water, fresh air, fertile soil and supports ecosystem of the food chain. Pollution drastically alters quality of the environment by changing the physico-chemical and biological aspects of these components. Accordingly, toxic metals, combustible and putrescible substances, hazardous wastes, explosives and petroleum products are all examples of inorganic and organic compounds that cause contaminations. Specifically, pollution of toxic and heavy metal in the environment is a growing problem worldwide, currently at an alarming rate. Toxic metals threaten the aquatic ecosystems, agriculture and ultimately human health. Traditional treatment techniques offer certain advantages such as rapid processing, ease of operation and control and flexibility. But, they could not maintain the quality of the environment due to the high operational costs of chemicals used, high energy consumption and handling costs for sludge disposal and overburden of chemical substances which irreversibly affect and destroy biodiversity, which ultimately render the soil useless as a medium for plant growth. Therefore, bioremediation and biotechnology, carried out by living assets to clean up, stabilize and restore contaminated ecosystems, have emerged as promising, environmental friendly and affordable approaches. Furthermore, the use of microbes, algae, transgenic plants and weeds adapted to stressful environments could be employed to enhance accumulation efficiency. Hence, sustainable and inexpensive processes are fast emerging as a viable alternative to conventional remediation methods, and will be most suitable for developing countries. In the current volume, we discuss pollution remediation challenges and how living organisms and the latest biotechnological techniques could be helpful in remediating the pollution in ecofriendly and sustainable ways.

Nano-Bioremediation: Fundamentals and Applications explores how nano-bioremediation is used to remedy environmental pollutants. The book's chapters focus on the design, fabrication and application of advanced nanomaterials and their integration with biotechnological processes for the monitoring and treatment of pollutants in environmental matrices. It is an important reference source for materials scientists, engineers and environmental scientists who are looking to increase their understanding of bioremediation at the nanoscale. The mitigation of environmental pollution is the biggest challenge to researchers and the scientific community, hence this book provides answers to some important questions. As an advanced hybrid technology, nano-bioremediation refers to the integration of nanomaterials and bioremediation for the remediation of pollutants. The rapid pace of urbanization, massive development of industrial sectors, and modern agricultural practices all cause a controlled or uncontrolled release of environmentally-related hazardous contaminants that are seriously threatening every key sphere, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and anthroposphere. Explores the current and potential applications of nano-bioremediation in the remediation of hazardous pollutants Outlines the major properties and classes of nanomaterials that make them efficient bioremediation agents Assesses the major challenges of effectively implementing bioremediation techniques at the nanoscale

Toxic substances threatens aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and ultimately human health. The book is a thoughtful effort in bringing forth the role of biotechnology for bioremediation and restoration of the ecosystems degraded by toxic and heavy metal pollution. The introductory chapters of the book deal with the understanding of the issues concerned with the pollution caused by toxic elements and heavy metals and their impacts on the different ecosystems followed by the techniques involved in monitoring of the pollution. These techniques include use of bio-indicators as well as modern techniques for the assessment and monitoring of toxicants in the environment. Detailed chapters discussing the role of microbial biota, aquatic plants, terrestrial plants to enhance the accumulation efficiency of these toxic and heavy metals are followed by remediation techniques involving myco-remediation, bio-pesticides, bio-fertilizers, phyto-remediation and rhizo-filtration. A sizable portion of the book has been dedicated to the advanced bio-remediation techniques which are finding their way from the laboratory to the field for revival of the degraded ecosystems. These involve bio-films, micro-algae, genetically modified plants and filter feeders. Furthermore, the book is a detailed comprehensive account for the treatment technologies from unsustainable to sustainable. We believe academicians, researchers and students will find this book informative as a complete reference for biotechnological intervention for sustainable treatment of pollution.

This volume is a collection of informative chapters on various subjects. It provides information on the effects of pesticides on avian fauna, the impact of microbial ecosystems to solve environmental problems, a detailed review on issues in membrane distillations process, microbial sensor for detection of pollutants, microbial biosurfactants, biotechnological applications of immobilised microalgae as well as a review on Biochar production. Most importantly, this book contains a critical review on microbial degradation of plastic wastes and highlights the Biodegradation and Bioremediation of Herbicides.

The huge expansion of the chemical and petroleum industries in the twentieth century has resulted in the production of a vast array of chem ical compounds and materials that have transformed our lives. The associated large-scale manufacturing, processing and handling activi ties have caused a serious deterioration in environmental quality and created threats to human health. These negative impacts have led to responses and regulations requiring remedial action in support of envi ronmental sustainability. of biotechnological methods through bioremediation, Application has gained prominence as an option for soil remediation methods. Bioremediation is a multidisciplinary approach where biologists, chem ists, soil scientists and engineers work as team to develop and imple ment remediation processes. Bioremediation has now been used successfully to remediate many petroleum-contaminated sites. However, there are as yet no commercial technologies commonly used to reme diate the most recalcitrant contaminants. Nevertheless, bioremediation is a rapidly advancing field and new bio-based remedial technologies are continuing to emerge.

This Encyclopedia of Biotechnology is a component of the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Biotechnology draws on the pure biological sciences (genetics, animal cell culture, molecular biology, microbiology, biochemistry, embryology, cell biology) and in many instances is also dependent on knowledge and methods from outside the sphere of biology (chemical engineering, bioprocess engineering, information technology, biorobotics). This 15-volume set contains several chapters, each of size 5000-30000 words, with perspectives, applications and extensive illustrations. It carries state-of-the-art knowledge in the field and is aimed, by virtue of the several applications, at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students, Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs.

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.