Bioremediation : Environment for UPSC Exams

Bioremediation is the use of microbes to clean up contaminated soil and groundwater and to degrade environmental pollutants.
Microbes are very small organisms, such as bacteria, that live naturally in the environment.
Bioremediation stimulates the growth of certain microbes that use contaminants as a source of food and energy.
Conventional methods like mechanical removal, burial, evaporation, dispersion, and washing are expensive and can lead to incomplete decomposition, leaving residual contaminants to pollute soil and water.
Employed in areas that are inaccessible without excavation. For ex: spills affecting ground water.
Clean up petroleum pollutants from the environment conserving aquatic wildlife without negatively affecting bio-diversity.
Technologies based on Bioremediation: Bio-leaching, Bio-Venting, Bio-augmentation, Composting.

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