Of all the issues facing humanity during the 21st century, environmental degradation is one of the most urgent. After more than a century of industrial development, there are few regions that have completely escaped the long-term effects of residual toxins and chemicals. Corporations that regularly use petrochemicals and other toxic substances regularly turn to bioremediation companies to help clean up many contaminants.
Unless there is a spectacular oil spill in the oceans, the public is rarely aware of these efforts, which are not confined to water. Many land-based industrial companies also rely on these services, including aircraft and marine manufacturing centers, segments of the food industry, and fuel producers. Current pollution regulations combined with the need to protect employees from toxic exposure drives development.
Remediation relies on microorganisms to help break down toxins, transforming them into safer compounds. They literally eat pollutants such as petrochemicals, turning them into naturally occurring chemistry important to life, including carbon dioxide and water. This also occurs in nature without any assist from scientists, but usually takes several decades rather than a few months.
To enhance the natural process in soils or water that contain few helpful microbes in their current state, bacterial populations can be dramatically increased by adding them directly to the cleanup site. The intent is to create a explosion in numbers using enhancements designed to promote rapid growth, primarily through regulation of the nutrients and soil temperatures known to aid bacterial reproduction.
Technicians encourage the existing soil microbes by adding amendments to land-based sites. They range from common organic substances like vegetable oil or molasses, to manufactured chemicals that produce more oxygen. The substances may be added via wells without causing more damage through excavations at the surface. Amendments alone do not remove toxins, but do provide biological boosts to the microorganisms already present.
Many sites are located in regions with extreme topography or climate, and soils may stay frozen. In many of these cases the contaminated soils must be excavated, restored, and then added back to the site in the least disruptive manner. The polluted soils are sometimes placed on specially designed platforms or loaded into containment tanks, where amendments are added, heated, and mixed, allowing the microbes to do their work more efficiently.
Because no two sites are identical, the time-frame for restoration varies depending on the depth of the problem, the amount of contamination, and whether the necessary micro-organisms already exist in sufficient quantities. The addition of useful bacteria poses few problems on its own, because most simply die after their food source is eliminated. Regular testing of the area ensures they are working.
On of the primary advantages of using this process to clean up widespread land-based toxins is less local interruption due to increased truck traffic, heavy equipment excavations, and the final work needed to return to surface to its original, healthy condition. For most companies the bioremediation process is less expensive in the long run, leaves behind no additional toxins, and already has a history of helping restore some of the worst locations.
Unless there is a spectacular oil spill in the oceans, the public is rarely aware of these efforts, which are not confined to water. Many land-based industrial companies also rely on these services, including aircraft and marine manufacturing centers, segments of the food industry, and fuel producers. Current pollution regulations combined with the need to protect employees from toxic exposure drives development.
Remediation relies on microorganisms to help break down toxins, transforming them into safer compounds. They literally eat pollutants such as petrochemicals, turning them into naturally occurring chemistry important to life, including carbon dioxide and water. This also occurs in nature without any assist from scientists, but usually takes several decades rather than a few months.
To enhance the natural process in soils or water that contain few helpful microbes in their current state, bacterial populations can be dramatically increased by adding them directly to the cleanup site. The intent is to create a explosion in numbers using enhancements designed to promote rapid growth, primarily through regulation of the nutrients and soil temperatures known to aid bacterial reproduction.
Technicians encourage the existing soil microbes by adding amendments to land-based sites. They range from common organic substances like vegetable oil or molasses, to manufactured chemicals that produce more oxygen. The substances may be added via wells without causing more damage through excavations at the surface. Amendments alone do not remove toxins, but do provide biological boosts to the microorganisms already present.
Many sites are located in regions with extreme topography or climate, and soils may stay frozen. In many of these cases the contaminated soils must be excavated, restored, and then added back to the site in the least disruptive manner. The polluted soils are sometimes placed on specially designed platforms or loaded into containment tanks, where amendments are added, heated, and mixed, allowing the microbes to do their work more efficiently.
Because no two sites are identical, the time-frame for restoration varies depending on the depth of the problem, the amount of contamination, and whether the necessary micro-organisms already exist in sufficient quantities. The addition of useful bacteria poses few problems on its own, because most simply die after their food source is eliminated. Regular testing of the area ensures they are working.
On of the primary advantages of using this process to clean up widespread land-based toxins is less local interruption due to increased truck traffic, heavy equipment excavations, and the final work needed to return to surface to its original, healthy condition. For most companies the bioremediation process is less expensive in the long run, leaves behind no additional toxins, and already has a history of helping restore some of the worst locations.
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