BIOREMEDIATION

by : catherine e. joaquin
 BIO REMEDIATION

“Life”
“remedium” =
restoring balance
 Bioremediation is a waste
management technique that involves
the use of organism to remove or
neutralize pollutants from a
contaminated site.
Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses
microorganisms, fungi, green plants or
their enzymes to return the natural environment altered by
contaminants to its original condition.
Is a “ treatment that uses naturally
occurring organisms to break down
hazardous substances into less toxic
or non toxic substance ”
 Sources of Contamination
•INDUSTRIAL SPILLS AND LEAKS
•SURFACE IMPOUNDMENTS
•STORAGE TANK AND PIPES
•LANDFILLS

•BURIAL AREAS AND DUMPS

•INJECTION WELL
CLASSIFICATION
A. INTRINSIC IN SITU BIOREMEDIATION

•NATURAL ATTENUATION

B. ENGINEERED IN SITU BIOREMEDIATION

•BIOSTIMULATION

•BIOAUGMENTATION
 NATURAL ATTENUATION

Bioremediation which occurs without

human intervention other than monitoring.
This natural attenuation relies on natural
conditions and behavior of soil
microorganisms that are indigenous to soil
 BIOSTIMULATION

also utilizes indigenous microbial populations

to remediate contaminated
soils. Biostimulation consists of adding
nutrients and other substances to soil to
catalyze natural attenuation processes
 BIOAUGMENTATION

Involves introduction of exogenic

microorganisms (sourced from outside the
soil environment) capable of detoxifying a
particular contaminant, sometimes
employing genetically altered
microorganisms
•In situ
treating the contaminated
material at the site

•Ex situ
Removal of the contaminated
material to be treated
elsewhere

BIOREMEDIATION METHODS/TECHNIQUES
 TYPES OF EX-SITU

•COMPOSTING
•LANDFARMING
•BIOPILING
•BIOREACTOR
 COMPOSTING
Excavating the soil and mixing organics such as
wood, hay, manure and vegetative waste with
contaminated soil
The organics are chosen based on their ability to
provide the proper porosity and carbon and
nitrogen balances to aid in the breakdown of
contaminants

Maintaining thermophilic temperatures (54 to

65OC) is important part of composting. In most
cases, the indigenous microorganisms maintain
this temperature while degrading the contaminant

Composting is most effective when removing PAH,

TNT, and RDX
 IN-VESSEL COMPOSTING
WINDROW Confined within a
COMPOSTING AERATED STATIC PILE building, container or
Consists of placing A Blower is used to vessel. This method
the mixture of raw supply air to the requires a variety of
materials in a long composting materials forced aeration and
narrow piles which and no turning or mechanical turning
are agitated or agitation of the techniques to speed up
turned on a regular materials occurs once the process
basis the pile is formed
LANDFARMING
is a process in which the soil is excavated and
mechanically separated via sieving. The polluted soil
is then place in layers no more than 0.4 meters
thick. A synthetic, concrete, or clay membrane is
then used to cover the contaminated soil layer

Oxygen is added and mixing occurs via plowing,

harrowing, or milling. Nutrients and moisture may also be
added to aid the remediation process.

The pH of the soil is also regulated (keeping it near

7.0) using crushed limestone or agricultural lime

Landfarming is most successful in removing PAH

and PCP
 BIOPILING
(biocells, bioheaps, biomounds, and compost piles)

This technology involves heaping contaminated soils into

piles (or “cells”) and stimulating aerobic microbial activity
within the soils through the aeration and/or addition of
minerals, nutrients, and moisture.

Biopiles are similar to landfarms in that they are both

above-ground, engineered systems that use oxygen,
generally from air, to stimulate the growth and
reproduction of aerobic bacteria which, in turn, degrade the
petroleum constituents adsorbed to soil.

While landfarms are aerated by tilling or plowing, biopiles

are aerated most often by forcing air to move by injection or
extraction through slotted or perforated piping placed
throughout the pile. Biopiling is most effective in treating
pollutants such as BTEX, phenols, PAHs with up to 4
aromatic rings, and explosives such as TNT and RDX.
 BIOREACTORS
treat contaminated soils in both solid and liquid
(slurry) phases

The solid phase treatment process mechanically decomposes

the soil by attrition and mixing in a closed container. The
objective of the mixing is to guarantee that the pollutants,
water, air, nutrients, and microorganisms are in permanent
contact. An acid or alkalinity may also be added to control
the pH

In fixed bed reactors, composts is added and

significantly increases the degradation rate

In rotating drum reactors, the drum has a screw

like mechanism in the middle of it that rotates to
mix and transport the soil.
 BIOREACTORS
The liquid phase treatment process uses
suspension bioreactors and treats soils as slurry.

The slurry feed enters the system and is rinsed

through a vibrating screen to remove debris. Sand
is then removed using a sieve or hydrocyclone. If a
hydrocyclone is used to remove the sand, the
sand falls to the bottom of the cyclone and the
fines remain on top. The fines are then treated in
a bioreactor. After the treatment, the slurry must
be dewatered and the water is then treated with
standard wastewater techniques.
TYPES OF IN-SITU

•BIOVENTING

•BIOSPARGING
•PHYTOREMEDIATION
 BIOVENTING
•In bioventing, the activity of the indigenous
bacteria is enhanced by inducing air (or
oxygen) flow into the unsaturated zone
(using extraction or injection wells) and, if
necessary, by adding nutrients.
•All aerobically biodegradable constituents
can be treated by bioventing. In particular,
bioventing has proven to be very effective in
remediating releases of petroleum products
including gasoline, jet fuels, kerosene, and
diesel fuel
BIOVENTING
INDIGENIOUS
MICROORGANISM

AIR
ORGANIC POLLUTANTS

UNSATURATED
ZONE
 BIOSPARGING
•In biosparging, air (or oxygen) and nutrients
(if needed) are injected into the saturated
zone to increase the biological activity of the
indigenous microorganisms.
•biosparging is effective in reducing
petroleum products at underground storage
tank (UST) sites. Biosparging is most often
used at sites with mid-weight petroleum
products (e.g., diesel fuel, jet fuel); lighter
petroleum products (e.g., gasoline) tend to
volatilize readily and to be removed more
rapidly using air sparging
BIOSPARGING

INDIGENIOUS
MICROORGANISM
AIR AND
NUTRIENTS
ORGANIC POLLUTANTS

SATURATED
ZONE
PHYTO REMEDIATION

“Plant”
“remedium” =
restoring balance
PHYTO REMEDIATION

treatment of environmental problems

(bioremediation) through the use of plants that
mitigate the environmental problem without the
need to excavate the contaminant material and
dispose of it elsewhere
 TECHNIQUES
Growing plants on the land, like crops. This technique is
most useful when the contaminant is within the plant
root zone, typically 3 - 6 feet
Growing plants in water (aquaculture). Water from
deeper aquifers can be pumped out of the ground and
circulated through a "reactor" of plants and then used in
an application where it is returned to the earth (e.g.
irrigation)

Growing trees on the land and constructing wells

through which tree roots can grow. This method can
remediate deeper aquifers in-situ. The wells provide an
artery for tree roots to grow toward the water and form
a root system in the capillary fringe.
 Roots take Water
in water enters a
and tree where
pollution pollution is
from the cleaned up
ground

clean
polluted
soil
soil

water table

Polluted clean
ground water ground water
SUBPROCESSES
 RHIZODEGRADATION/PHYTOSTIMULATION
Is the breakdown of contaminants in the rhizosphere
through microbial activity that is enhanced by the
presence of plant roots

Slower process than Phytodegradation

Microogranisms (yeast, fungi, or bacteria) consume and

digest organic substances (such as fuels or solvents that
are hazardous) for nutrition and energy, and break them
down into harmless products.

Plants roots releases natural substances such as sugars,

alcohols and acids which contain organic carbon that
provide foods for soil microorganisms and the additional
nutrients enhance their activity
 PHYTODEGRADATION/ PHYTOTRANSFORMATION

Instead of using microorganism (Rhizodegradation),

Phytodegradation utilizes enzymes. These enzymes are
capable of breaking down PCPs, PCBs, Chlorinated Solvents,
Herbicides and Pesticides

As the plants uptake the toxins, the enzymes convert them

into a non-toxic compounds
 PHYTOEXTRACTION/ PHYTOACCUMULATION
The uptake of contaminants by plant roots and
movement of the contaminants from the roots to
aboveground parts of the plants
Plants take s up the contaminants. Human harvest the
plant and dispose it accordingly (either incinerated or
composted)

Hyperaccumulators- have a high tolerance to heavy

metals and are able to absorb large quantities

Metals such as nickel, zinc, and copper are the best

candidates for removal by phytoextraction
PHYTOEXTRACTION/ PHYTOACCUMULATION
 RHIZOFILTRATION

Similar to Phytoextraction, but the plants are used to

clean up contaminated groundwater rather than soil

Plants are hydroponically grown in clean water rather

than soil until a large system has developed. Once a
large root system is in place, the water supply is
substituted for polluted water supply to acclimatize the
plant. After the plants become acclimatized, they are
planted in the polluted area where the roots uptake the
polluted water and the contaminants along with it
As the roots become saturated with contaminants, they
are harvested. For example, sunflowers were
successfully used to remove radioactive contaminants
from pond water in a test at Chernobyl, Ukraine
 PHYTOVOLATIZATION
The process where plants take up contaminants which
are water soluble and release them into the atmosphere
as they transpire the water
The contaminant may become modified along the way,
as the water travels along the plant’s vascular system
from the roots to leaves

Then, the contaminants evaporate or volatilize into the

air surrounding the plant

There are varying degrees of success with plants as

phytovolatilizers with one study showing poplar trees to
volatilize up to 90% of the TCE they absorb
PHYTOVOLATIZATION
 PHYTOSTABILIZATION
The immobilization of contaminants in soil through
absorption and accumulation by roots, adsorption onto
roots or precipitation within the root zone

Contaminants accumulation in plant tissue and in the soil

around the roots become insoluble and/ or immobilized.
Insoluble contaminants are usually less toxic

Plant species to be used are selected based on local

condition and native flora soil composition and plant
tolerance to the contaminants
Plant name Common Phytoremediation
name function
Agropyron Wheat grass Stabilization of lead in
repens soil
Bambusa Bamboo Useful in waste
management
Bouteloua Blue grama Rhizodegradation of
gracilis hydrocarbons
Brassica Broccoli Bench tests for metal
oleracea accumulation
Eichhornia Water Metals accumulation,
crassipes hyacinth biosorption
Marsilea Nardoo TNT transformation
drummondii
TYPE PROCESS
RHIZODEGRADATION/ The process of breaking
PHYTOSTIMULATION down an organic
contaminants in soils
through active microbial
behavior enhanced by the
rhizosphere
PHYTODEGRADATION/ Exuded enzymes (by the
PHYTOTRANSFORMATION plants) are capable of
detoxifying organic
compounds without
microbial assistance
It is the process of breaking
down the contaminants by
plant metabolic activity
PHYTOEXTRACTION The uptake of contaminants
by plant roots and
movement of the
contaminants from the
roots to aboveground parts
of the plants
CONTAMINANTS
Petroleum Hydrocarbons,
BTEX, PAHs, PCP,
Perchlorate, pesticides,
PCBs and other organic
compounds
Chlorinated solvents,
methyl bromide, atrazine,
DDT, tetrabromoethene,
tetrachloroethane,
dichloroethene, CI and P-
based pesticides, PCBs,
Phenols, anilines, nitrites,
nutrients
Metals, metalloids,
radionuclides, perchlorate,
BTEX, PCP, organic
chemicals not tightly bound
to soil particles
TYPE PROCESS
RHIZOFILTRATION Refers to the approach of
using hydroponically
cultivated plant roots to
remediate contaminated
water through absorption,
concentration, and
precipitation of pollutants.
It also filters through water
and dirt.
PHYTOVOLATILIZATION The process where plants
take up contaminants
which are water soluble
and release them into the
atmosphere as they
transpire the water
PHYTOSTABILIZATION The immobilization of
contaminants in soil
through absorption and
accumulation by roots,
adsorption onto roots or
precipitation within the
root zone
CONTAMINANTS
Metals, radionuclides,
organic chemicals, nitrate,
ammonium, phosphate and
pathogens
Se, Tritium, As, Hg, Xylene,
Tetrachloromethane,
trichloromethane,
trichloroethane, and other
chlorinated solvents
Metals, phenols,
tetrachloromethane,
trichloromethane, and
other chlorinated solvents
 PLANT CHEMICALS
Arabidopsis Mercury
Bladder campion Zinc, Copper
Selenium, Sulfur, Lead, Cadmium,
Brassica family (Indian Mustard & Broccoli) Chromium, Nickel, Zinc, Copper, Cesium,
Strontium
Buxaceae(boxwood) Nickel
Compositae family Cesium, Strontium
Euphorbiaceae Nickel
Tomato plant Lead, Zinc, Copper
Pesticides, Atrazine, Trichloroethylene (TCE),
Trees in the Populusgenus (Poplar, Carbon tetrachloride, Nitrogen compounds,
Cottonwood) 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexahydro-1,3,5-
trinitro-1,3,5 triazine (RDX)
Pennycress Zinc, Cadmium
Sunflower Cesium, Strontium, Uranium
genus Lemna(Duckweed) Explosives wastes
Parrot feather Explosives wastes
Pondweed, arrowroot, coontail TNT, RDX
Polychlorinatedphenyls (PCP's),
Perennial rye grass
polyaromatichydrocarbons (PAH's)
 REMEDIATION EFFECTIVELY REMOVED SOIL CONSTRAINTS
TECHNIQUE COMPOUNDS
Landfarming PAH, PCP
Biopiling BTEX, PAH, TNT, RDX Must be made
homogeneous to treat
Composting PAH, TNT, and RDX
Bioreactors PAH, PCB Must be separated by
particle size in order to
treat

REMEDIATION EFFECTIVELY REMOVED SOIL CONSTRAINTS

TECHNIQUE COMPOUNDS
Bioventing PAH, non chlorinated Must be homogeneous,
solvents may be unsaturated
Biosparging PAH, non chlorinated Must be homogenous
solvents and saturated

Phytoremediation TPH, BTEX, PAH, TNT, RDX Must have contamination

in shallow soil
 BIOREMEDIATION

NATURAL
BIOSTIMULATION BIOAUGENTATION
ATTENTUATION

•Indigenous •Indigenous •Exogenic

microorganisms microorganisms microorganism
•No human •Add nutrients
intervention, relies on
the natural condition
of the soil
microorganism
 BIOREMEDIATION

In Situ Ex Situ

Bioventing Composting

Biosparging Landfarming

Phytoremediation Biopiling

Bioreactor