Bioremediation
 Enormous
quantities of organic and inorganic compounds are released into the environment
each year as a result of human activities. In some cases these releases are
deliberate and well regulated (e.g. industrial emissions) while in other cases
they are accidental (e.g. chemical or oil spills). Petroleum and its products
are one of the most common environmental pollutants. They are a fire hazard,
threat to marine life, and a source of air and groundwater pollution. They
contaminate land and water bodies by accidental spills like the Alaska Oil spill
in 1989 and oil spills during the Gulf War, leakage from pipelines, and other
human activities. Detoxification of the contaminated sites is expensive and time
consuming by conventional chemical or physical methods.
Bioremediation
consists of using naturally occurring or laboratory cultivated micro-organisms
to reduce or eliminate toxic pollutants. Petroleum products are a rich source of
energy and some organisms are able to take advantage of this and use
hydrocarbons as a source of food and energy. This results in the breakdown of
these complex compounds into simpler forms such as carbon dioxide and water.
Bioremediation thus involves detoxifying hazardous substances instead of merely
transferring them from one medium to another. This process is less disruptive
and can be carried out at the site which reduces the need of transporting these
toxic materials to separate treatment sites.
Using
bioremediation techniques, TERI has developed a mixture of bacteria called 'oilzapper'
which degrades the pollutants of oil-contaminated sites, leaving behind no
harmful residues. This technique is not only environment friendly, but also
highly cost-effective.
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