Bioremediation

Biodegradation is the biologically catalyzed modification of an organic chemical's structure. However, this modification can be through different metabolic pathways and does not necessarily mean a reduction in toxicity. Mineralization, one type of biodegradation, is defined as the conversion of an organic substance to its inorganic constituents, rendering the original compound harmless. Transformation is defined as any metabolically-induced change in the chemical composition of a compound.Bioremediation refers to the use of microorganisms to degrade contaminants that pose environmental and human risks. Bioremediation processes typically involve the actions of many different microbes acting in parallel or sequence to complete the degradation process. Both in situ (in place) and ex situ (removal and treatment in another place) remediation approaches are used. The versatility of microbes to degrade a vast array of pollutants makes bioremediation a technology that can be applied in different soil conditions. Though it can be inexpensive and in situ approaches can reduce disruptive engineering practices, bioremediation is still not a common practice.A widely used approach to bioremediation involves stimulating naturally occurring microbial communities, providing them with nutrients and other needs, to break down a contaminant. This is termed biostimulation. Biostimulation can be achieved through changes in pH, moisture, aeration, or additions of electron donors, electron acceptors or nutrients. Another bioremediation approach is termed bioaugmentation, where organisms selected for high degradation abilities are used to inoculate the contaminated site. These two approaches are not mutually exclusive- they can be used simultaneously.