Biofilm Biodegradation Potential
Freshta Akbari, Natasha Andrade, Merily Horwat and Birthe V. Kjellerup
from: Aquatic Biofilms: Ecology, Water Quality and Wastewater Treatment (Edited by: Anna M. Romaní, Helena Guasch and M. Dolors Balaguer). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2016) Pages: 167-182.
Abstract
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are present in the environment after decades of industrial activity and have contaminated soils and sediments worldwide. The group of contaminants described as POPs includes toxic compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, chlorinated ethenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and brominated flame retardants. Bioremediation of POPs utilizing microbial communities in the biofilm mode of growth has enhanced the removal of POPs from the environments most often converting the organic pollutants to harmless materials. The state-of-the-art for biofilm based solutions for biodegradation of POPs is primarily based on laboratory experiments often performed at optimal conditions. Thus the influence of natural conditions such as nutrient requirement, bioavailability, life style and physic-chemical conditions might vary depending on the POP in question and the environment such as co-contaminants. Field studies of biofilm based solutions are becoming more frequent and most seem promising. Along with these studies knowledge about the mechanisms by which either indigenous or bioaugmented microorganisms forming biofilms enhancing bioremediation is increasingly being expanded read more ...
