Although the most sensational aspects of a major oil spill usually disappear from the news cycle quickly, the long-term environmental damage lingers for months or years. The sight of animal rescue teams cleaning waterbirds illustrates visible damage, but some of the most important cleanup work today is being done by micro-organisms. Bioremediation companies use them to literally consume environmental pollutants.
They include fungi, yeasts, and bacteria and their enzymes. All play an integral part in the breakdown and destruction of harmful materials, especially crude oil. Although effective, using natural methods takes time, and works best when the spilled pollutants are actually suitable food for the bacteria. In many cases, natural processes must be artificially stimulated to help restore large areas quickly and efficiently.
As these organisms consume a pollutant they find appealing, they produce energy from the nutrients that allows them to multiply. When digested, contaminants are systematically removed from both the food chain and the soil. By increasing the oxygen level of contaminated regions where beneficial bacteria already live, metabolic rates are increased. Bio-augmentation further aids the process.
Augmentation means adding large numbers of existing microbes to a polluted area where similar creatures currently thrive. When combined with the higher oxygen levels obtained through aeration, nature still takes its course, but much more rapidly. When the number and type of creatures are carefully balanced, toxins soon become sulfates, carbon dioxide, water, and other materials.
Biological remediation is not limited to bodies of water. During the past century, the pressures of World War II sidelined environmental concerns, and fuel storage units on military sites often leaked deep underground during the following years. Some contaminated the ground water, increasing local rates of certain diseases, including cancer. Cleanup traditionally involved earth-moving equipment, and a controlled storage facility.
Encouraging microbes do the dirty cleanup work reduces surface disruption and digging, and the process can be specifically targeted toward a particular contaminant. Rather than producing additional toxic disposal issues, microorganisms create by-products that actually serve as food for other local creatures. This method costs less over the long-term, and is ideal in locations that are physically difficult to reach.
Biological remediation is not possible in all toxic situations. Although bacteria have adapted to include many hazards in their diet, some substances are simply too poisonous, or may cover an area too large to be effectively transformed using this type of remediation. To be optimally effective, a site must be monitored regularly to confirm that improvements are ongoing. When time is an important factor, it is still quicker to use earth-moving equipment.
In many cases, the overall restoration costs may be less than half those associated with traditional methods, and associated insurance costs are reduced. There are fewer concerns about hazardous materials contaminating off-site storage sites, and chemical evaporation is reduced to nearly zero. In an ideal situation, the area being cleaned returns to its normal, balanced ecological state relatively quickly.
They include fungi, yeasts, and bacteria and their enzymes. All play an integral part in the breakdown and destruction of harmful materials, especially crude oil. Although effective, using natural methods takes time, and works best when the spilled pollutants are actually suitable food for the bacteria. In many cases, natural processes must be artificially stimulated to help restore large areas quickly and efficiently.
As these organisms consume a pollutant they find appealing, they produce energy from the nutrients that allows them to multiply. When digested, contaminants are systematically removed from both the food chain and the soil. By increasing the oxygen level of contaminated regions where beneficial bacteria already live, metabolic rates are increased. Bio-augmentation further aids the process.
Augmentation means adding large numbers of existing microbes to a polluted area where similar creatures currently thrive. When combined with the higher oxygen levels obtained through aeration, nature still takes its course, but much more rapidly. When the number and type of creatures are carefully balanced, toxins soon become sulfates, carbon dioxide, water, and other materials.
Biological remediation is not limited to bodies of water. During the past century, the pressures of World War II sidelined environmental concerns, and fuel storage units on military sites often leaked deep underground during the following years. Some contaminated the ground water, increasing local rates of certain diseases, including cancer. Cleanup traditionally involved earth-moving equipment, and a controlled storage facility.
Encouraging microbes do the dirty cleanup work reduces surface disruption and digging, and the process can be specifically targeted toward a particular contaminant. Rather than producing additional toxic disposal issues, microorganisms create by-products that actually serve as food for other local creatures. This method costs less over the long-term, and is ideal in locations that are physically difficult to reach.
Biological remediation is not possible in all toxic situations. Although bacteria have adapted to include many hazards in their diet, some substances are simply too poisonous, or may cover an area too large to be effectively transformed using this type of remediation. To be optimally effective, a site must be monitored regularly to confirm that improvements are ongoing. When time is an important factor, it is still quicker to use earth-moving equipment.
In many cases, the overall restoration costs may be less than half those associated with traditional methods, and associated insurance costs are reduced. There are fewer concerns about hazardous materials contaminating off-site storage sites, and chemical evaporation is reduced to nearly zero. In an ideal situation, the area being cleaned returns to its normal, balanced ecological state relatively quickly.
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