User:BigToe42/Bioremediation

Landfarming[edit]
Main article: Landfarming

While it is an ex situ technique, it can also be considered an in situ technique as Landfarming can be performed at the site of contamination.

In Situ vs. Ex Situ
Ex situ techniques are often more expensive because of excavation and transportation costs to the treatment facility, while in situ techniques are performed at the site of contamination so they only have installation costs. While there is less cost there is also less of an ability to determine the scale and spread of the pollutant. The type of pollutant ultimately determines which bioremediation method to use. The depth and spread of the pollutant, as well as the surrounding environment are other important factors.

Pesticides[edit]
Pesticides and other harmful synthetic chemicals are often introduced to the environment through human activities such as agriculture. With many contaminated sites around the world such as in China, India, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Spain, and the U.S. These synthetic chemicals pose a threat to the environment because of their resistance towards biodegradation compared to natural organic compounds. This means the pollutant can harm the environment for long periods of time with widespread reach penetrating soil and water systems because of agriculture runoff, inadequate storage, inefficient transportation, and wastewater disposal. Harming all manners of organic life with long term health issues such as cancer, rashes, blindness, paralysis, and mental illness. An example is Lindane which was a commonly used insecticide in the 20th century. Long time exposure poses a serious threat to humans and the surrounding ecosystem. Lindane reduces the potential of beneficial bacteria in the soil such as nitrogen fixation cyanobacteria. As well as causing central nervous system issues in smaller mammals such as seizures, dizziness, and even death. What makes it so harmful to these organisms is how quickly distributed it gets through the brain and fatty tissues. While Lindane has been mostly limited to specific use, it is still produced and used around the world.

While there are various ways to deal with pesticide contamination, bioremediation is considered one of the cheapest, safest, and most environmentally friendly methods of addressing this issue.

Actinobacteria has been a promising candidate in situ technique specifically for cleaning pesticides. When certain strains of Actinobacteria have been grouped together, their efficiency in degrading pesticides has enhanced. As well as being a reusable technique that strengthens through further use by limiting the migration space of these cells to target specific areas and not fully consume their cleansing abilities. Despite encouraging results, Actinobacteria has only been used in controlled lab settings and will need further development in finding the cost effectiveness and scalability of use.

Limitations of bioremediation
One major drawback is finding the right species to perform bioremediation. In order to prevent the introduction and spreading of an invasive species to the ecosystem, an indigenous species is needed. As well as a species plentiful enough to clean the whole site without exhausting the population. Finally the species should be resilient enough to withstand the environmental conditions. These specific criteria may make it difficult to perform bioremediation on a contaminated site.